BMW Motorsport driver Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx needed only three laps to lock out the front row of the GTEPro class for the 6 Hours of Silverstone.
Though the qualifying for the GT cars was conducted under threatening skies the the team opted to keep both cars in the pitlane until the closing moments of the session. Once on track, and with the rain mercifully holding off, Farfus took full advantage of the track conditions and rubber laid down by his rivals to lap the Grand Prix circuit in 2:01.768.
“We knew that our car would be quick in qualifying after we did a lot of work yesterday to get the balance perfectly right,” said Farfus. “We did it! The forecast said no rain for qualifying, so we waited quite a while – and the track conditions got better and better. We went out at the right moment, and this strategy was excellent. It feels great to be on pole again.”
Priaulx, like Farfus a former WTCC driver, followed the Brazilian around the track, setting a time three tenths down, though the Channel Islander suggested he lost due to traffic on his quick lap.
Despite this Priaulx was more than sixth tenths faster than Ferrari driver Toni Vilander who will line up the best man behind the two M3s.
“This has been a strong performance from Augusto and Andy,” said team principal Charly Lamm. “This qualifying was the first test of strength following the long break – and we are on P1 and P2. In Imola we were really competitive. It's great that we seem to be able to continue this trend here. We waited several minutes before joining the action, while most of our competitors were already out on the track. Some of them might have lost some time during a yellow. Fortunately it remained dry, so our drivers could set their impressive times. The forecast says changeable weather conditions for tomorrow, so it's likely to rain. Therefore we need to do some intensive preparations in order to have the right set-up ready for whatever happens.”
The 6 Hours of Silverstone is scheduled to begin at 11:35, Farfus sharing the no.55 with Jorg Muller, Uwe Alzen driving with Priaulx in the no.56 entry.