Thierry Vermeulen and Maro Engel claimed the two available pole positions during the two GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS qualifying sessions at Brands Hatch this afternoon.
During the opening 10-minute dash, to set the grid for Sunday’s opening race, Ferrari machines ran strongly throughout the session. The AF Corse 296 GT3 of Alessio Rovera held the advantage as the session entered its final throws, but that was when Vermeulen popped up with a late piece of qualifying magic.
Vermeulen, at the wheel of the Ferrari he shares with Chris Lulham, produced a time of 1m23.374s which was enough to go almost two tenths of a second faster than anybody else. With the chequered flag already falling however, there was no time for anybody else to respond.
Rovera was forced to settle for second as part of an all-Prancing Horse front row with Marvin Kirchofer the best of the non-Italian machines at the wheel of his McLaren in third. Behind that, Luca Engstler was fourth at the wheel of a Grasser entered Ferrari with Arthur Leclerc, brother of F1 star Charles, producing another strong run for a Ferrari in fifth.
The top-six was completed by Lucas Auer at the wheel of the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG he shares with Maro Engel. And whilst Auer was unable to produce a headline grabbing time himself, Engel was able to deliver something special when the second part of qualifying to determine the race two starting order took place.
In a repeat of last year’s race two session, the bright yellow Mercedes-AMG rocketed to the best time of the two sessions, with Engel’s 1m23.240s enough to take pole position. A number of drivers rivalled the time however, with the top-four all separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Chris Lulham, in the same Ferrari which took race one pole, was just 27 thousandths away in second, with Jordan Pepper in the Grasser Lamborghini a mere eight thousandths further back. Sandy Mitchell was another to just miss out on the front row, 0.078s away from the overall pace in the Barwell Lamborghini back in fourth. Thomas Neubauer and Benjamin Goethe rounded out the top-six.
GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, Qualifying 1, Brands Hatch
- Thierry Vermeulen, Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3, 1m23.374s
- Alessio Rovera, AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, Ferrari 293 GT3, +0.185s
- Marvin Kirchhofer, Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, +0.252s
- Luca Engstler, GRT – Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, +0.265s
- Arthur Leclerc, AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, Ferrari 293 GT3, +0.287s
- Lucas Auer, Winward Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, +0.466s
GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, Qualifying 2, Brands Hatch
- Maro Engel, Winward Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, 1m23.240s
- Chris Lulham, Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3, +0.027s
- Jordan Pepper, GRT – Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, +0.035s
- Sandy Mitchell, Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, +0.078s
- Thomas Neubauer, AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, Ferrari 293 GT3, +0.127s
- Benjamin Goethe, Garage 59, McLAren 720S GT3 EVO, +0.148s
Click here for full results and timing from this weekend's event.
Brands Hatch hosts two Sprint Cup races on the full Grand Prix circuit tomorrow and it’s still possible to purchase tickets on the gate. Click here for more event information.