The #76 R-Motorsport Aston Martin starts the three-hour race at Silverstone from pole position. The Swiss squad’s car delivered a superbly consistent qualifying performance.
After Mattieu Vaxiviere topped Q1, teammate Jake Dennis was third quickest in the second session, while Nicki Thiim was fifth in the final segment. With their times added together, this cemented a comfortable pole for the #76 crew.
“I think we all did a great job,” Dennis commented afterwards. ”Matt had a really strong qualifying and managed to put six tenths on the field, which was pretty impressive.
“Then the challenge was to have a clear lap, which was difficult with the traffic, and the last thing we wanted to do is get penalised for something stupid.
“It’s home ground for me and home ground for the team, which makes this an incredible start of the day.”
Dennis and co are joined on the front row of the grid by the #88 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes. Their star performer was Raffaele Marciello, was quickest in Q3, while teammates Tristan Vautier and Adam Christodoulou were also among the front-runners.
The #14 Lexus of Emil Frey Racing completed the top-three on the grid. It was a breakthrough performance for the Japanese brand, with Christian Klien showing particular pace by topping the second session.
In the Pro-Am category, the #333 Rinaldi-Ferrari, driven by Alexander Mattschull and Rinat Salikhov delivered strong performances to put the car P1 in class after the second session, before a superb run by Daniel Keilwitz – which was good enough for P2 overall in the final segment of qualifying – cemented a comfortable Pro-Am pole.
“I did not expect to be that fast in the first session, as I’ve might have done 10 laps in the Ferrari this year!” said Keilwitz, who steps into the place occupied by Dominik Schwager at Monza.
“Alexander, Rinat and the whole team did an amazing job today as well,” added the German driver.
The Silver Cup pole went to the Monza winners, with the #54 Emil Frey Jaguar of Mikael Grenier, Alex Fontana and Adrian Zaugg taking 10th overall, seven places clear of their closest class rivals.
“It is really nice to be on pole in class, obviously, but our goal is to be competitive on the overall chart,” said Grenier. “Having the Jaguar in the top-10 is what we are always aiming for.”
In the Am Cup, it was a popular pole position for the #188 Garage 59 McLaren of Chris Goodwin, Chris Harris and Alexander West. The crew were 0.4s clear of their nearest class challengers.
“It went very well for us,” said Goodwin. “Our target was to get Alex West and Chris Harris up to speed with a car that’s drivable and confidence-inspiring. It’s not about being the absolute fastest, it’s about getting the average up. We’ve done that today, so it’s a much more prepared and calm Garage 59 team than we had in Mona.”
Qualifying result
1 76 Matthieu Vaxiviere, Jake Dennis, Nicki Thiim R-Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage 1:56.962, 1:56.637, 1:57.112, 1:57.137
2 88 Tristan Vautier, Adam Christodoulou, Raffaele Marciello Mercedes-AMG Team Akka ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:57.121, 1:57.535, 1:57.146, 1:56.683
3 14 Marco Seefried, Christian Klien, Albert Costa Emil Frey Lexus Racing Lexus RC F GT3 1:57.221, 1:57.783, 1:56.802, 1:57.078
4 62 Alex Brundle, Maxime Martin, Marvin Kirchhöfer R-Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage 1:57.297, 1:57.705, 1:56.982, 1:57.204
5 1 Dries Vanthoor, Christopher Mies, Alex Riberas Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS 1:57.393, 1:57.300, 1:57.470, 1:57.410
6 4 Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Yelmer Buurman Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:57.452, 1:57.800, 1:57.275, 1:57.281
7 114 Markus Palttala, Stephane Ortelli, Norbert Siedler Emil Frey Lexus Racing Lexus RC F GT3 1:57.541, 1:58.077, 1:57.153, 1:57.395
8 911 Dirk Werner, Frederic Makowiecki, Romain Dumas Manthey-Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:57.553, 1:57.793, 1:57.480, 1:57.386
9 54 Silver Cup Alex Fontana, Adrian Zaugg, Mikael Grenier Emil Frey Jaguar Racing Emil Frey G3 Jaguar 1:57.634, 1:57.418, 1:57.919, 1:57.565
10 35 Michael Meadows, Vitaly Petrov, Denis Bulatov SMP Racing by AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:57.685, 1:57.900, 1:57.810, 1:57.345
11 63 Andrea Caldarelli, Christian Engelhart, Mirko Bortolotti GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:57.687, 1:57.625, 1:58.048, 1:57.389
12 43 David Fumanelli, Maxi Buhk, Maxi Götz Strakka Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:57.728, 1:58.176, 1:57.840, 1:57.169
13 72 Mikhail Aleshin, Miguel Molina, Davide Rigon SMP Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 1:57.759, 1:58.821, 1:57.401, 1:57.057
14 98 Ricky Collard, Nick Yelloly, John Edwards Rowe Racing BMW M6 GT3 1:57.759, 1:57.331, 1:58.567, 1:57.381
15 66 Pieter Schothorst, Steijn Schothorst, Kelvin van der Linde Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS 1:57.774, 1:58.358, 1:57.570, 1:57.394
16 90 Silver Cup Jules Szymkowiak, Jack Manchester, Nico Bastian AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:57.812, 1:57.623, 1:58.530, 1:57.283
17 99 Jesse Krohn, Connor de Phillippi, Jens Klingmann Rowe Racing BMW M6 GT3 1:57.887, 1:57.509, 1:58.105, 1:58.049
18 17 Marcel Fässler, Sheldon van der Linde, Stuart Leonard Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS 1:57.928, 1:58.179, 1:57.358, 1:58.248
19 333 Pro-AM Cup Alexander Mattschull, Rinat Salikhov, Daniel Keilwitz Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 1:57.970, 1:58.942, 1:58.107, 1:56.863
20 58 Andrew Watson, Come Ledogar, Ben Barnicoat Garage 59 McLaren 650 S GT3 1:57.999, 1:57.810, 1:58.053, 1:58.136
21 82 Phil Keen, Rolf Ineichen, Franck Perera GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:58.006, 1:57.842, 1:58.556, 1:57.621
22 7 Guy Smith, Jules Gounon, Steven Kane Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 1:58.035, 1:58.558, 1:57.524, 1:58.024
23 97 Silver Cup Ahmad Al Harthy, Euan Mckay, Charlie Eastwood Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin V12 Vantage 1:58.148, 1:58.771, 1:57.840, 1:57.834
24 31 Pro-AM Cup Derek Pierce, Rob Smith, Sebastian Morris Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 1:58.280, 1:58.607, 1:58.894, 1:57.340
25 44 Thomas Jäger, Oliver Rowland, Adrien Tambay Strakka Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:58.291, 1:58.881, 1:58.300, 1:57.693
26 24 Silver Cup Mads Siljehaug, Lenny Marioneck, Patric Niederhauser Reiter Young Stars Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 1:58.388, 1:59.531, 1:58.153, 1:57.480
27 12 Silver Cup Andrea Rizzoli, Romain Monti, Alex Frassineti Ombra Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:58.416, 1:58.458, 1:58.885, 1:57.905
28 19 Raffaelle Gianmaria, Ezequiel Perez Companc, Giovanni Venturini GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:58.424, 1:58.735, 1:58.185, 1:58.352
29 49 Pro-AM Cup Darren Burke, Salih Yoluc, Euan Hankey Ram Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:58.464, 1:58.706, 1:58.998, 1:57.689
30 25 Antoine Jung, Simon Gachet, Christopher Haase Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS 1:58.569, 1:59.274, 1:58.257, 1:58.177
31 6 Silver Cup Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt, Gabriele Piana BLACK FALCON Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:58.710, 1:59.887, 1:58.088, 1:58.156
32 55 Nicolas Pohler, Pierre Kaffer, Jeffrey Schmidt Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS 1:58.825, 1:59.025, 1:59.210, 1:58.242
33 42 Pro-AM Cup Chris Buncombe, Nick Leventis, Lewis Williamson Strakka Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:58.942, 1:59.209, 2:00.219, 1:57.400
34 53 Pro-AM Cup Niek Hommerson, Louis Machiels, Andrea Bertolini AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 1:58.980, 1:59.452, 1:59.546, 1:57.943
35 22 Silver Cup Jordan Witt, Ricardo Sanchez, Struan Moore GT SPORT MOTUL Team RJN Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 1:59.150, 1:59.752, 1:59.369, 1:58.331
36 51 Pro-AM Cup Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 1:59.236, 2:00.106, 1:59.795, 1:57.809
37 27 Pro-AM Cup Giuseppe Cipriani, Miguel Ramos, Fabrizio Crestani Daiko Lazarus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, 1:59.317, 2:00.778, 1:59.324, 1:57.849
38 78 Silver Cup Michele Beretta, Sandy Mitchell, Martin Kodric Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:59.323, 1:58.358, 2:01.280, 1:58.331
39 188 AM Cup Alexander West, Chris Harris, Chris Goodwin Garage 59 McLaren 650 S GT3 1:59.435, 1:59.802, 1:59.558, 1:58.947
40 87 Pro-AM Cup Jean-Luc Beaubelique, Mauro Ricci, Nicolas Jamin AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:59.561, 2:00.171, 2:01.031, 1:57.483
41 77 AM Cup Jon Minshaw, Adrian Amstutz, Leo Matchiski Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:59.843, 2:00.545, 1:59.477, 1:59.507
42 89 AM Cup Philippe Giauque, Eric Debard, Fabien Barthez AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 1:59.898, 1:59.452, 2:00.820, 1:59.424
43 26 Pro-AM Cup Marc Rostan, Nyls Stievenart, Markus Winkelhock Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS 1:59.918, 2:00.945, 2:00.854, 1:57.955
44 28 Silver Cup Federico Leo, Arno Santamato, Stefano Gattuso Daiko Lazarus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1:59.924, 2:00.433, 1:59.908, 1:59.432
45 5 Pro-AM Cup Kriton Lendoudis, Saud Al Faisal, Rui Aguas BLACK FALCON Mercedes-AMG GT3 2:00.096, 2:01.528, 2:00.921, 1:57.839
46 488 AM Cup Rick Yoon, Pierre Ehret, Rory Penttinen Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 2:00.212, 2:00.574, 2:01.256, 1:58.807
47 991 AM Cup Jürgen Häring, Edward Lewis Brauner, Wolfgang Triller Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R 2:00.258, 2:00.526, 2:01.045, 1:59.203
48 23 Matt Parry, Lucas Ordonez, Alex Buncombe GT SPORT MOTUL Team RJN Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 2:00.408, 1:57.872, 2:05.642, 1:57.712
49 36 AM Cup Henry Walkenhorst, Andreas Ziegler, Immanuel Vinke Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 2:01.455, 2:03.811, 2:01.322, 1:59.233
50 8 Vincent Abril, Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 1:57.758, 1:57.444, 1:58.072 By Melissa Warren
