Audi Sport are happy with their performance in the Super Pole qualifying session despite missing out on pole, securing third and fifth place for the 24 Hours of Spa grid with Frédéric Vervisch and René Rast respectively.
The super pole session saw the Top 18 cars covered by only a second over the 7 kilometres of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and that closeness meant Audi were not disheartened by failing to get any of their six R8 LMS machines onto the front row of the grid.
They were buoyed by being the only marque to get three of their cars inside the Top 10, with Clemens Schmid in the privateer Team I.S.R. entry slotting his car in ninth place.
“We’re facing one of the most thrilling editions of the 24 Hours of Spa,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “The gaps were already extremely small in all the practice sessions on Thursday.”
“The performances delivered by the ten marques in the final qualifying were very balanced. So, in that respect, we’re completely happy with grid position three and the other results. The drivers and teams are well prepared for the race because we’ve completed all our programs jointly in every respect.”
Vervisch pointed out his second row starting position would mean little in the grand scheme of a 24 hour race, but was happy to avoid having to start in the thick of the midfield pack.
“It feels great to be among the frontrunners, especially considering the high level of the drivers here,” he said. “But I know that a good starting position does not change a lot for the race. It is still a bit more comfortable to start at the front, though.”
Kelvin van der Linde, Jamie Green and Christopher Haase were the other Audi drivers to break into the Top 20 super pole session. They were unlucky not to be joined by a seventh Audi crew, as the #5 R8 LMS of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Dries Vanthoor missed the super pole cut by a mere four thousandths of a second.
