Neel Jani in #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid set a sensational qualifying lap time of 1m53.756 which contributed toward a surprise pole position for the Porsche LMP1 team at Spa.
Along with Andre Lotterer, the Swiss ace combined to set an average of 1m54.097s to claim Porsche’s first pole of the season and their first pole since Shanghai last November.
After Toyota had largely dominated the Free Practice sessions, it was the German manufacturer which took the first point of the Spa weekend.
Toyota Gazoo Racing placed their three cars 2-3-4 as #7 car of Conway and Kobayashi headed teammates Lapierre and Sarrazin in #9, with Buemi and Nakajima starting fourth in #8 car. Stephane Sarrazin set the overall fastest lap of 1m53.658s in #9 Toyota.
It was a tough day for #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid as the duo of Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard had to settle for fifth on the grid.
G-Drive Racing took a second consecutive pole position in a remarkably close battle in LMP2. The LMP2 pole was claimed by Alex Lynn and Pierre Thiriet as they combined to claim a second consecutive pole position and another point for G-Drive Racing.
Second in LMP2 was #36 Signatech Alpine with Gustavo Menezes and Matt Rao just 0.023s behind the pole car. Third was the sister #35 Signatech Alpine in its first race, with Nelson Panciatici and Andre Negrao finishing just 0.005s behind. Only 0.031s cover the top four cars in LMP2.
The qualifying session was red flagged for four minutes after Vitaly Petrov crashed #25 CEFC Manor TRS ORECA-Gibson.
The #71 AF Corse Ferrari of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon combined to set an average of 2m15.026s, repeating their 2016 LMGTE Pro pole.
Davide Rigon’s best lap of 2m14.938s stood as the fastest of the 25-minute session and laid the foundation for Ferrari’s first class pole since Nurburgring last July.
Ford Chip Ganassi took second with Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla 0.401s behind the pole sitters in #66 and #67 Ford GT was third.
Pedro Lamy again proved to be the class of the LMGTE Am field to complete a last minute snatch of pole from the Dempsey-Proton Porsche car in the #98 Aston Martin. The Portuguese veteran scored a thrilling 15th WEC pole position as he combined with Paul Dalla Lana for an average time of 2m18.659s.
The team experienced drama after having one of Lamy’s earlier laps cancelled due to a track limit violation and also used two sets of tyres ahead of the six hour race.
The #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche 911 RSR was second, as Matteo Cairoli and Christian Ried combined to set their best average of 2m19.065s. Spirit of the Race was third with Thomas Flohr and Miguel Molina making it three different manufacturers in top three.
Qualifying results
1 1 N. JANI / A. LOTTERER / N. TANDY Porsche LMP Team LMP1 H
1:54.097 1:54.097
2 7 M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI / . Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 H
1:54.693 1:54.693 0.596 0.596
3 9 S. SARRAZIN / Y. KUNIMOTO / N. LAPIERRE Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 H 1:54.701 1:54.701 0.604 0.008
4 8 S. BUEMI / A. DAVIDSON / K. NAKAJIMA Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 H 1:54.907 1:54.907 0.810 0.206
5 2 T. BERNHARD / E. BAMBER / B. HARTLEY Porsche LMP Team LMP1 H 1:55.440 1:55.440 1.343 0.533
6 26 R. RUSINOV / P. THIRIET / A. LYNN G-Drive Racing LMP2
2:02.601 2:02.601 8.504 7.161
7 36 R. DUMAS / G. MENEZES / M. RAO Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2
2:02.624 2:02.624 8.527 0.023
8 35 P. RAGUES / A. NEGRÃO / N. PANCIATICI Signatech Alpine Matmut LMP2 2:02.629 2:02.629 8.532 0.005
9 24 T. GRAVES / J. HIRSCHI / J. VERGNE CEFC Manor TRS Racing LMP2 2:02.632 2:02.632 8.535 0.003
10 13 M. BECHE / D. HEINEMEIER HANSSON / N. PIQUET JR Vaillante Rebellion LMP2
2:03.619 2:03.619 9.522 0.987
11 4 O. WEBB / D. KRAIHAMER / J. ROSSITER Bykolles Racing Team LMP1 2:03.827 2:03.827 9.730 0.208
12 34 N. MOORE / P. HANSON / K. CHANDHOK Tockwith Motorsports LMP2 2:04.176 2:04.176 10.079 0.349
13 28 F. PERRODO / B. HANLEY / E. COLLARD TDS Racing LMP2
2:05.058 2:05.058 10.961 0.882
14 37 D. CHENG / A. BRUNDLE / T. GOMMENDY Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 2:05.421 2:05.421 11.324 0.363
15 31 J. CANAL / N. PROST / B. SENNA Vaillante Rebellion LMP2
2:05.614 2:05.614 11.517 0.193
16 38 H. TUNG / O. JARVIS / T. LAURENT Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2
2:14.220 2:14.220 20.123 8.606
17 71 D. RIGON / S. BIRD AF Corse LMGTE Pro
2:15.017 2:15.017 20.920 0.797
18 66 S. MÜCKE / O. PLA / B. JOHNSON Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK LMGTE Pro 2:15.418 2:15.418 21.321 0.401
19 67 A. PRIAULX / H. TINCKNELL / L. DERANI Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK LMGTE Pro
2:15.565 2:15.565 21.468 0.147
20 51 J. CALADO / A. PIER GUIDI AF Corse LMGTE Pro
2:15.765 2:15.765 21.668 0.200
21 91 R. LIETZ / F. MAKOWIECKI Porsche GT Team LMGTE Pro
2:16.862 2:16.862 22.765 1.097
22 92 M. CHRISTENSEN / K. ESTRE Porsche GT Team LMGTE Pro
2:17.010 2:17.010 22.913 0.148
23 95 N. THIIM / M. SØRENSEN / R. STANAWAY Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Pro 2:17.156 2:17.156 23.059 0.146
24 97 D. TURNER / J. ADAM / D. SERRA Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Pro
2:17.640 2:17.640 23.543 0.484
25 98 P. DALLA LANA / P. LAMY / M. LAUDA Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Am 2:18.659 2:18.659 24.562 1.019
26 77 C. RIED / M. CAIROLI / M. DIENST Dempsey-Proton Racing LMGTE Am 2:19.065 2:19.065 24.968 0.406
27 54 T. FLOHR / F. CASTELLACCI / M. MOLINA Spirit of Race LMGTE Am 2:19.658 2:19.658 25.561 0.593
28 61 W. MOK / K. SAWA / M. GRIFFIN Clearwater Racing LMGTE Am
2:20.915 2:20.915 26.818 1.257
29 86 M. WAINWRIGHT / B. BARKER / N. FOSTER Gulf Racing UK LMGTE Am 2:22.120 2:22.120 28.023 1.205
30 25 R. GONZALEZ / S. TRUMMER / V. PETROV CEFC Manor TRS Racing LMP2 By Melissa Warren
