McLaren sweep Thursday and Friday qualifying to take pole for Spa 24 Hours

Written by Owen Bradley and Aaron Carroll

Credit: SRO/JEP

Drivers fought it out in three Qualifying sessions, with the Top 20 cars out of a 73-car grid going through to Superpole.

Thursday - Qualifying

The start of Q1 was hectic, because by the time the drivers made their way around the circuit to start their first flying laps, the rain started to fall. Unfortunately, just one minute later, the rain had increased drastically, with multiple cars running off the circuit. The No.21 Aston Martin smashed hard into the barriers on the exit of Turn 16, which brought out the first red flag.

After the Qualifying session was resumed it didn't take too long before we saw yet another red flag, after the No.52 Ferrari spun and got beached in the gravel at Turn 7's Les Combes.

Once the session was finally resumed, the drivers wasted no time in their attempts at setting the fastest time, but the session would see the red flag once again after the No.611 Mercedes became unstable through Eau Rouge, the car spinning out and into the tyre barriers on the right hand side of Eau Rouge.

The red flag came out with around two and a half minutes remaining in the session, with the time around a lap of Spa taking just under two and a half minutes, the session was held for review as teams did gear up to get back out on circuit, as the rain continued to get heavier.

Q1 would then see an additional two minutes added to the time in the session, leaving drivers with enough time to complete at least one flying lap, despite the conditions getting trickier. The No.66 Audi finished Q1 on top, setting a 2:24.833.

Q2 started with a lot of confusion for many teams and drivers, with some opting for the wet tyres, and others opting for the slick tyres as the rain had come to a complete stop in between sessions. There was still standing water out on track, however a dry line had somewhat formed around the track, although this was still difficult to see due to the sun setting into the night.

Credit: SRO/JEP

The drivers who went out on slicks were incredibly tentative on their initial banker laps, with the No.46 BMW of Rene Rast only going quick enough for 21st initially on the opening run.

At the end of a much cleaner second session, it was Dries Vanthoor quickest for the No.31 WRT BMW, setting a 2:16.707. The Top 5 of Q2 were separated by just half a second, and all five cars were different manufacturers. BMW led the way from McLaren, Mercedes, Porsche and Lamborghini in Q2.

Q3 saw another red flag disrupted session after the No.11 Aston Martin spun out at Turn 13 and was beached in the gravel. The red flag was waved before anybody could set a meaningful lap in the third Qualifying session, with many of the Pro category cars sitting below 30th position.

The No.59 McLaren led the way in Q3 with a 2:16.524, as the track conditions started to ease and therefore cars started to gain lap time throughout the night. Whilst they were pushing to the limit, that limit became increasingly hard to see and feel as darkness soon completely set over Spa-Francorchamps.

Alex Sims set the pace in Q4 with an initial first lap of a 2:17.700 for the No.2 Corvette going fastest initially. The No.59 Garage 59 McLaren then came through to set a 2:16.454, stealing the fastest lap of the session from the Corvette, as Arthur Leclerc followed the McLaren through, less than a second off the top time on the first run.

Despite most cars all improving throughout the session, it was the Team WRT BMW's who all seemed to struggle, with Valentino Rossi just scraping the No.46 BMW into Superpole with 20th place.

Credit: SRO/JEP

In the end, it was the No.59 McLaren once again who topped Q4 with a 2:16.454, ending the Thursday Qualifying for Superpole as the fastest car, and therefore setting themselves up well for Superpole on Friday.

Friday - Superpole

The top 20 shootout which was set to begin at 16:10 local time on Friday afternoon was delayed by 20 minutes, due to interruptions in the earlier support races.

Unlike the Thursday session, traffic wouldn't be an issue at all for the drivers. Each team was given a time slot to go out to the track, and had two laps to set their fastest time.

Valentino Rossi was the first to hit the track in the No.46 Team WRT BMW. On the very first lap, Rossi was unable to produce a meaningful lap time, making a few big errors, running wide at the first corner, as well as dipping two wheels into the gravel on the exit of Turn 8.

Eventually, the 9-Time MotoGP Champion came through to set a 2:17.100, a slow lap compared to the rest of the field, which was something the Italian himself echoed, claiming that "I wanted to get in the 2:16.000's, but this is still good."

Joel Sturm came through to take provisional pole position as the second car out on the circuit, going an entire second faster than Rossi. However, Sturm's No.92 Porsche would be superseded by home hero Maxime Martin, who set a 2:15.792 for the No.9 Mercedes.

The BMW's seemed to struggle in Superpole, with the No.46 BMW the slowest midway through the session, and the No.32 WRT BMW only a couple of positions ahead, with the No.98 Rowe Racing BMW just two places ahead of them. None of the BMW cars managed to get inside the Top 5, a difficult afternoon for the German manufacturer.

Credit: SRO/JEP

The red flag would be flown in Superpole due to the No.34 Aston Martin careering across the circuit on entry to Turn 14, with Enrique Chaves at the wheel.

Once the session was resumed, it was Mathieu Jaminet who got behind the wheel of the No.18 Porsche, struggling to get his Dinamic GT car up to the top of the timing pages, 1.2 seconds off the top.

Alessio Rovera and Antonio Fuoco came through soon after, Fuoco in the No.50 in fifth and Rovera fourth after his first lap, but jumping up to second on his second, just 0.002 seconds off pole.

The No.007 of Mattia Drudi went second before the Ferrari, but then got beaten by Rovera, Joules Gounon in the No.17 Mercedes, Lucas Auer in the No.48 Mercedes and Franck Perera in the No.163 Lamborghini.

Dries Vanthoor in the No.31 went fastest on his first lap, but was under investigation for leaving the pits too early. But 30 seconds later, Gounon went almost two tenths quicker on his second lap, going to the top.

Credit: SRO/JEP

Neither would be as good as Marvin Kirchhöfer in the No.59 McLaren, going four tenths quicker than everyone else. Vanthoor could not improve on his second lap, all but confirming the Garage 59 McLaren on pole.

Kirchhöfer, Joseph Loake and Benjamin Goethe will start tomorrows race from the front tomorrow when the green flag falls at 16:30 local time on Saturday.