By Tarek Ramchani
A perfect lap from local hero Laurens Vanthoor was enough to give the Audi brand and his team Belgian Audi Club Team WRT a fine pole position for today’s Blancpain Sprint Series qualifying race.
It was a thrilling qualifying session and a very fought Q3. Laurens Vanthoor set the fastest time of 1.28:580, the Audi driver was ahead of Lamborghini’s Jeroen Bleekemolen in second. Laurens Vanthoor is sharing the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra with Cesar Ramos.
Third place went to another Audi R8 LMS ultra. René Rast had a strong Q3 and secured the third spot on the grid with a best time of 1.28:913. René Rast is sharing the #2 car from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT with Enzo Ide.
The #4 Audi R8 LMS ultra also from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was tenth overall, the car competes within the Silver-Cup Trophy. The car is in the hands of Vincent Abril and Mateusz Lisowski.
Best of the Phoenix Racing entries is the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Markus Winkelhock and Niki Mayr-Melnhof qualified in eleventh place.
Bad luck hit the remaining two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The #5 entry from Phoenix Racing with Marc Basseng and Alessandro Lattif was twenty-second. The #9 machine from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT driven by Stéphane Ortelli and Stephane Richelmi was twenty-second.
Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series
