Spa 24h: -Updated- Rovera Puts AF Corse Ferrari on Pole in Dominant Superpole Display

Text: Rick Kiewiet

Images: SRO

Alessio Rovera gave the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 the best possible starting position for the 78th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, topping all four segments of the new-format Superpole to claim pole with a 2:18.613 — Ferrari's first pole at this event since 2017. As flagged in our preview, the AF Corse squad and the Lionspeed GP Porsche were expected to be among the pace-setters, and Rovera's performance left little doubt about the Ferrari's speed heading into Saturday's race.

Pro

The 2026 Superpole format saw the initial 32-car field reduced in four successive sessions, with drivers required to use the same set of tires throughout — a detail Rovera exploited by completing just one flying lap in the opening segment, preserving rubber for later. By the time the final one-lap shootout arrived, he had a clear advantage over the remaining three cars. Tom Fleming put the #58 Garage 59 McLaren second, 0.428 seconds back, Arthur Leclerc in the #50 Ferrari was third at 0.648, with Jules Gounon fourth in the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes — though the #3 would ultimately move up one place in the final classification following post-session penalties (see below).

The #48 MANN-FILTER Mercedes of Lucas Auer qualified eighth (later 6th after penalties), with the championship-leading crew set to work their way through the field. Several other pre-race contenders were eliminated early: all three Pro BMW entries failed to advance from the opening segment, Jordan Pepper qualifying the #32 WRT entry 18th; the #007 Comtoyou Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi went out in 24th; and Ricardo Feller's #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche — highlighted in our preview as arguably the quickest outright line-up in the field — exited in the second segment, leaving Preining, Feller and Buus to start well down the order.

Gold

Tom Fleming's second place overall was also good for Gold Cup pole, the Garage 59 McLaren delivering on its billing as the class favorite. As noted ahead of the race, the #58 had been denied Gold honors at last year's Spa by a late puncture, and Fleming's performance suggested the pace was there to go one better this time. The #998 ROWE Racing BMW, the other main Gold contender identified in the preview, did not advance from Superpole while the #71 Ferrari was upgraded from 5th to 4th overall after the disqualification of the #50.

Silver

Ariel Levi delivered a standout session in the #66 Tresor Attempto Audi, claiming sixth overall and Silver Cup pole ahead of the race — a result that underlined the class championship leader's form following its unexpected overall win at Monza. However, this result was subsequently reversed following post-session checks (see below). Silver pole moved on the the #6 GetSpeed Mercedes who will start the race from 9th.

Bronze and Pro-Am

Dennis Marschall qualified the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari seventh overall, securing Bronze Cup pole as the only car from the class to reach Superpole — a strong starting position for the defending class champions. No notable Pro-Am developments emerged from the session.

--- Post-Session Penalty Update ---

Following technical checks after Superpole, several cars had all their lap times deleted and were excluded from the classification:

The #50 AF Corse Ferrari had its times removed after post-session inspection revealed its data logger was not connected, meaning no power boost data was recorded. Arthur Leclerc therefore does not appear in the Superpole classification.

The #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi — which had provisionally claimed Silver Cup pole — had its times deleted for running non-compliant ride height and wing settings under BoP regulations. Silver Cup pole therefore passes to the #6 GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG.

The #007 Comtoyou Racing and #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martins also had their times deleted, both found to be overboosting beyond permitted BoP limits.

With these exclusions applied, the remaining cars moved up accordingly. The final top six on the grid: #51 AF Corse Ferrari, #58 Garage 59 McLaren (Gold), #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes, #71 Selected Racing Ferrari (Gold), #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari (Bronze), #48 MANN-FILTER Mercedes.

The 78th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa starts Saturday at 16:30 CET.