Alvaro Parente, driving the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, took pole position for the Qualifying Race of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup round at the Nürburgring. His team-mate Côme Ledogar in the #59 car will share the front row with the Portuguese driver. Right behind the McLaren-duo, 0.003 of a second to be exact, standings leader Christopher Mies took third in the #33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8. Mies will the second row with the #84 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG of defending champion Maxi Buhk.
Overcast conditions at the Nürburgring did not alter the spectacle of the qualifying session. At a certain point in Q2, the top-30 (thirty!) cars were separated by less than a second. At the sharp end of the pack both Garage 59 McLarens made good use of their fresh set of Pirelli tyres to dominate proceedings. There were quickest at the end of Q2 and repeated that feat during the deciding third part of qualifying.
Chris Mies did come close to squeezing his Audi between the Garage 59 machines, but the German was only 0.003 short. He was fastest of the Audi cars though, not a mean feat considering there were six R8 LMS inside the top-10.
Giacomo Piccini (#11 Kessel Racing Ferrari) was by far the quickest driver in the Pro-Am Cup. The Italian qualified in 16th, two places in front of Luca Stolz in the #19 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, polesitter in the Silver Cup. Fastest of the Am Cup drivers was Stéphane Lemeret in the #55 AF Corse Ferrari.
The Qualifying race starts at 14.30 CET and will be streamed live on the official website and through the app.
Alvaro Parente (#58 Garage 59 McLaren): "When we put a new set of Pirelli tyres on, the car immediately felt very well balanced. In free practice we knew we had the speed, but it isn't until you try the new rubbers that you are absolutely certain to be on the pace."
Côme Ledogar (#59 Garage 59 McLaren): "This is an excellent opportunity for McLaren to score its first podium in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. Together with Rob and Martin we form two excellent line-ups, and we should have a good race pace."
Christopher Mies (#33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8): "Qualifying was very tight again, and it's good to be at the front, especially since we are leading the championship. The car was great to drive, so we can start the race with some ambitions."