Akkodis-ASP’s absolute dominance in free practice and pre-qualifying suggested that the two Sprint Cup pole positions at Brands Hatch were going to be resolved in their interests. Nothing could be further from the truth, since Ulysse De Pauw managed to beat the favorites in the fight for race 1 pole and has placed the #53 AF Corse Ferrari in first position. After this surprising result, there has been no room for new contingencies and Raffaele Marciello has achieved pole position with the #89 Mercedes for the second race.
The first of two Sprint Cup qualifiers at Brands Hatch, played just 20 minutes away, offered a somewhat unexpected result as De Pauw conquered pole with the #53 Ferrari after beating Jules Guonon’s #88 Mercedes by 34 thousandths. For its part, the Audi #12 driven by Mattia Drudi slipped into third position, just ahead of a Mercedes #89 that in the hands of Timur Bogulavskiy was less fearsome than it presumed to be. For its part, Charles Weerts placed the #32 Audi in fifth position after beating Aurélien Panis by 24 thousandths.
In an uneventful session, pole position in the Pro-Am category fell into the lap of another of the Ferrari GT3s, as the #52 of Louis Machiels took the fastest time in this class. Of course, it will start in delayed positions since the GT3 registered in the Pro category and in the Silver Cup have taken the first 18 positions. All in all, the equality within this class has been evident and the four cars competing for the honors have finished separated by a second.
The second qualifying session was resolved in favor of Marciello. In yet another example of the Italian’s superior performance compared to his rivals, the Mercedes works driver posted a 1:21.370 in the #89 to claim pole for the weekend’s second moto. Raffaele Marciello beat Patric Niederhauser by 73 thousandths, driver of Audi #25. For his part, the current champion Dries Vanthoor has signed the third position with the Audi # 32. Within the ‘top 5’ the Audi #11 and the Mercedes #88 in the hands of Jim Pla have also been cast.
After starring in two difficult moments in free practice and pre-classification, Valentino Rossi has had a more sober performance in the first classificationa session in which he participated with the Audi #46. The Italian has finished in 17th place, a result that does not justify his good lap, since he finished 1.1 seconds behind the poleman. Fruit of the work of his colleague Frédéric Vervisch, ‘Il Doctore’ will have a better starting position in the second round, in which his GT3 will start eleventh.
Photos: GT World Challenge Europe