Ferrari dominates Spa Qualifying, maiden LMGT3 pole for Lexus

Text & Images: Rick Kiewiet

Despite being hit with the hardest Balance of Performance changes (19kw less power and 12kg of extra weight), Ferrari has locked out the first three places of the starting grid for the 6 hours of Spa. In LMGT3, Lexus continued their strong form this season with their maiden pole position after their win at Imola three weeks ago.

Antonio Fuoco put out yet another stellar lap to put the #50 on Pole Position for the race. With a 1.59:617 he steered over 3 tenths (0.347s) clear of Robert Kubica in the #83 Ferrari. The #50 and #83 were the only cars under the 2-minute barrier. Giovinazzi put the #51 in P3.

Behind the Ferraris, Peugeot had one of their best qualifying sessions since they returned to the highest echelon of endurance racing. Local here Stoffel Vandoorne put the #94 p4 on the grid, only 0.017s behind Giovinazzi, Vergne qualified the #93 in p7. Both JOTA Cadillacs also made it to the Hyperpole session in which Alex Lynn put the #12 on p5, while the #38 was in p10. Both Alpines were also in, with the #36 in p6 and the #35 in p9.

Robin Frijns qualified the sole BMW in the hyperpole session in p8.

Remarkably, none of last year's drivers world champions Porsche, or any of the constructor's champions' Toyota's made it into the top-10, with Estre being the only one with an excuse other than the BoP: he suffered minor rear bodywork damage after a small off at Fagnes. Toyota was 1.8 seconds off the pace in the qualifying session, with no clear explanation for the immense gap. As teams are strictly forbidden to discuss the BoP, we lack any info on if that is the reason for their frustrating qualifying.

As the hypercar team struggles, Toyota does also enjoy some positives: it's LMGT3 team flourishes at the moment with their maiden pole at Spa. Finn Gehrsitz qualified the #78 0.267s ahead of the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman (no typo) Aston Martin. The #77 & #88 Proton Ford Mustangs qualified 3rd and 4th, followed by the #54 Ferrari and the other Aston, the #27 of Heart of Racing. Valentino Rossi qualified the #46 in p9