No.51 Ferrari qualify on pole for the 24 Hours of Spa after topping all Superpole sessions

Credit: SRO

The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari will start from pole position for this year’s 24 Hours of Spa after Alessio Rovera in the cockpit dominated all four Superpole sessions.

The No.58 McLaren qualified second, and the No.50 AF Corse Ferrari will start from third to make it a 1-3 start for AF Corse and Ferrari.

As it happened

SP1

Ricardo Feller in the No.80 Lionspeed Porsche was the first to kick things off with a 2:19.601 laptime. It didn’t take much time for the cars to enter the 2:18s, the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera being the first to do so.

Mattia Drudi was the first to get eliminated after a disappointing run for the No.34 Aston Martin. Last year’s winner, Mirko Bortolotti, was also eliminated from making it to SP2, as nobody could beat Rovera’s 2:18.330; the closest was the No.58 Garage 59 McLaren with Thomas Fleming behind the wheel, five tenths off.

It was a major disappointment for BMW, with none of their four cars qualified for SP2. Porsche did not have much to take home either, with only the No.80 making it to SP2 and four of their five cars being eliminated.

Those who were eliminated were, in order: No.2 Porsche, No.32 BMW, No.22 Porsche, No.63 Lamborghini, No. 98 BMW, No.46 BMW, No.7 Aston Martin, No.34 Aston Martin, No.4 McLaren, No.20 Mercedes, No. 10 Porsche, No. 998 BMW, No.25 Audi, No.52 Ferrari and the No.96 Lamborghini.

SP2

The fastest in SP1, Rovera driving the No.51 Ferrari, was the first to get up to speed in SP2 and was immediately the quickest, once again the first to reach the 2:18s.

Rovera seemed unstoppable as nobody could beat his time in SP2 as well. The gap between the Ferrari and the gap to second was almost twice as big as the gap between the second fastest and the slowest to make it through, eighth.

Ferrari quickly cemented themselves as the ones to beat, with four cars making it to SP3, the two AF Corse cars finishing first and fourth. Last year’s pole sitters, the No.59 McLaren failed to make it through, alongside two other McLarens to make it through, however, the No.58 McLaren managed to sneak through to SP3.

The cars that were eliminated in SP2 were, in order: No.59 McLaren, No.99 Audi, No.11 Mercedes, No.64 Ford, No.45 Ferrari, No.23 McLaren, No.5 McLaren and the No.80 Porsche.

Credit: SRO

SP3

Rovera, driving the No.51 Ferrari once again set the benchmark, the first and the only to get into the 2:18s.

Nobody beat Rovera, nor could they beat Arthur Leclerc in the No.50 AF Corse Ferrari. The No.58 came close, but had to settle for third. The No.3 Mercedes was the last to make it through to SP4.

The ones eliminated were: No.71 Ferrari, No.66, No.74 Ferrari, and the No.48 Mercedes.

SP4

With only enough time for one flying lap in SP4, things were tense this session. The No.58 McLaren, being investigated for speeding in the pit lane, did not ease the tensions for the team. Leclerc in the No.50 Ferrari was the first to set off on his lap.

The No.51 was the fastest in sector one, more than a tenth ahead of the No.58. The trend continued in the second sector. When Rovera crossed the finish line, he repeated the story of every other session of Superpole; he was the fastest and the only one to make it into the 2:18s.

Four tenths behind him was the No.58 McLaren of Fleming. Leclerc closed in on Fleming in the third sector, but it was not enough to close the two-tenths buffer to second; the No.50 AF Corse Ferrari had to settle for third. 

The No.3 Mercedes with Jules Gounon behind the wheel has to settle for fourth as the Mercedes cars seem to struggle against the Ferraris and McLarens.

The No.51 has been comfortably the quickest across the four Superpole sessions and will be the ones to beat. However, the race is 24 hours long, and the 68 cars behind them will not be holding back any punches.

The 24 Hours of Spa will go green tomorrow at 16:30 CEST (15:30 BST).