Porsche have taken their first ever pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the pairing of Marc Lieb and Neel Jani setting a four lap average of 2:01.198 to go ahead of the #8 Toyota in the final seconds of the session.
The #8, which set an average time of 2:01.836, was six tenths faster than the #2 Audi of Marcel Fassler and Andre Lotterer, who in turn were another six tenths faster than the #7 Toyota of Alexander Wurz and Stephane Sarrazin.
In LMP1-L, the #12 REBELLION R-One of Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfled got pole, with their team mates and only rivals, the #13 R-One of Dominik Kraihamer and Andrea Belicchi, failing to set a lap time.
KCMG lead the way in LMP2, with the #47 Oreca 03-Nissan of Matthew Howson and Richard Bradley setting a four lap average of 2:12.103, six tenths faster than the #27 SMP Racing Oreca of Sergey Zlobin and Nicolas Minassian. In third was the first – and only – Morgan-Nissan of G-Drive Racing, with Roman Rusinov and Olivier Pla setting an average lap of 2:13.143. In fourth and last was the #38 JOTA Sport Zytek on a 2:13.761, almost two seconds slower than the KCMG Oreca.
In LMGTE Pro AF Corse set the pace, with the #51 of defending champion Gimi Bruni and Toni Vilander setting an average of 2:32.338, one tenth faster than the #97 Aston Martin of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke. In third was the first Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR’s of Marco Holzer and Frederic Makowiecki, with the pair pushing the #92 into third on a 2:32.581.
Finally in LMGTE Am it was AF Corse on top again, with the #61 458 Italia on top on a 2:33.962 with Luis Perez-Companc and Marco Cioci at the wheel. Next up is the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Prospeed Competition on a 2:33.981, one-hundredth of a second back from the #61. In third was another AF Corse runner, the #81, with Stephen Wyatt and Michele Rugolo setting a 2:34.039.
There were no major issues during the session, although the 8 Star Ferrari had a minor spin half way through GTE Qualifying.
The race starts tomorrow at 1430 local, with the race set to end in twilight conditions.
