Eurocup Mégane Trophy - Le Mans Qualifying

Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing) made his knowledge of the Bugatti circuit count this morning as he earned his first two pole positions of the season, qualifying ahead of the current Eurocup Mégane Trophy top two, Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing) and Michaël Rossi (TDS).

The track had dried out completely when the drivers headed out for their 20-minute qualifying session. Championship leader Michaël Rossi made an inauspicious start, ending up in the gravel trap on the way out of the Chapelle bend. Fabrice Walfisch (Oregon Team) took advantage of this slip-up to claim the lead ahead of Sébastien Dhouailly (Team Lompech Sport).

Several laps went by before performances really started to improve. The Tech 1 Racing drivers were the first to step up the pace. Dimitri Enjalbert took the lead and Matthieu Cheruy moved into second. The latter was quickly overtaken by Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing) and Jonathan Hirschi (Tech 1 Racing), but Enjalbert held on to first place with a lap timed at 1'42''698.

Enjalbert was dislodged from provisional pole position by Maxime Martin, but hit back immediately with a time of 1'42''151. At the halfway point, then, Enjalbert was out in front, followed by Maxime Martin, Jonathan Hirschi, Michaël Rossi and Fabrice Walfisch.

Martin made several attempts to outdo Enjalbert's efforts, but while the Belgian improved on his best time, he could not do enough to worry Dimitri. The end of the session saw Michaël Rossi going all-out to improve his position, and the man from Savoie had some success, reclaiming third spot behind his two closest rivals for the title.

And that was how things stayed, meaning the Eurocup championship top three will line up in reverse order on both start grids. Dimitri Enjalbert takes both pole positions, with Maxime Martin alongside him on the front row and Michaël Rossi in third place.

A Eurocup newcomer, Lorenzo Bontempelli (Oregon Team) produced the best performance in the Gentlemen Drivers category.

Dimitri Enjalbert: «I was confident, even though we were starting from scratch this morning with our dry-track setup. I quickly got into the swing of things and was able to drive aggressively on a circuit that I am particularly fond of. Whether it rains or not, I know I'm capable of winning both races.»

Maxime Martin: «This was a step into the unknown for us and the setup we went for seemed to work pretty well. The races are long, and grid positions aren't everything, but it's good to be on the front row. I'm also racing in the French Clio Cup this weekend and I think that's probably a disadvantage as the two cars are totally different. I'll have to adjust my approach every time.»

Michaël Rossi: «I still haven't completely found my bearings. I made a few minor errors which, added together, left me out of the reckoning for pole position. My car is pretty consistent and I think I'll be competitive in the races. I'll need to get a good start and get in front early»

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS 

1 1 Dimitri ENJALBERT Tech 1 Racing 1 6 1:42.030 - 147.5 12   2 8 Maxime MARTIN Boutsen Energy Racing 8 1:42.247 +0.217 147.2 11   3 12 Michaël ROSSI TDS 9 1:43.033 +1.003 146.1 12   4 3 Jonathan HIRSCHI Tech 1 Racing 2 4 1:43.386 +1.356 145.6 12   5 15 Sébastien DHOUAILLY Team Lompech Sport 11 1:43.548 +1.518 145.3 11   6 24 Fabrice WALFISCH Oregon Team 1 8 1:43.654 +1.624 145.2 12   7 9 David DERMONT Boutsen Energy Racing 9 1:43.898 +1.868 144.8 11   8 7 Bernhard TEN BRINKE Equipe Verschuur 1 11 1:43.958 +1.928 144.8 12   9 2 Matthieu CHERUY Tech 1 Racing 1 11 1:44.007 +1.977 144.7 12   10 25 Lorenzo BONTEMPELLI Oregon Team 1 7 1:44.169 +2.139 144.5 11   11 11 Andreas MAYERL Race Performance 9 1:44.360 +2.330 144.2 11   12 14 Jean - Philippe MADONIA TDS 6 1:44.800 +2.770 143.6 11   13 21 Hoevert VOS Equipe Verschuur 2 10 1:44.843 +2.813 143.5 11   14 20 Wim BEELEN Equipe Verschuur 2 8 1:45.103 +3.073 143.2 11   15 17 Pierre HIRSCHI Team Lompech Sport 8 1:45.763 +3.733 142.3 11   16 4 Bernard DELHEZ Tech 1 Racing 2 6 1:46.635 +4.605 141.1 11   17 16 Jean - Charles MIGINIAC Team Lompech Sport 10 1:46.944 +4.914 140.7 11   18 22 Marguerite LAFFITE Boutsen Energy Racing 5 1:47.369 +5.339 140.2 8   19 6 Harrie KOLEN Equipe Verschuur 1 8 1:47.498 +5.468 140.0 11   20 73 Angelo BAIGUERA Oregon Team 1 11 1:48.069 +6.039 139.2 11   21 18 Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA Blue Jumeirah Team 10 1:48.804 +6.774 138.3 11  

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM TIME GAP_FIRST GAP_PREVIOUS 

1 1 Dimitri ENJALBERT Tech 1 Racing 1 1:42.151 - -   2 8 Maxime MARTIN Boutsen Energy Racing 1:42.257 +0.106 +0.106   3 12 Michaël ROSSI TDS 1:43.115 +0.964 +0.858   4 3 Jonathan HIRSCHI Tech 1 Racing 2 1:43.530 +1.379 +0.415   5 15 Sébastien DHOUAILLY Team Lompech Sport 1:43.651 +1.500 +0.121   6 24 Fabrice WALFISCH Oregon Team 1 1:43.823 +1.672 +0.172   7 9 David DERMONT Boutsen Energy Racing 1:43.927 +1.776 +0.104   8 2 Matthieu CHERUY Tech 1 Racing 1 1:44.073 +1.922 +0.146   9 7 Bernhard TEN BRINKE Equipe Verschuur 1 1:44.144 +1.993 +0.071   10 25 Lorenzo BONTEMPELLI Oregon Team 1 1:44.393 +2.242 +0.249   11 11 Andreas MAYERL Race Performance 1:44.556 +2.405 +0.163   12 21 Hoevert VOS Equipe Verschuur 2 1:44.991 +2.840 +0.435   13 20 Wim BEELEN Equipe Verschuur 2 1:45.294 +3.143 +0.303   14 14 Jean - Philippe MADONIA TDS 1:45.435 +3.284 +0.141   15 17 Pierre HIRSCHI Team Lompech Sport 1:45.798 +3.647 +0.363   16 4 Bernard DELHEZ Tech 1 Racing 2 1:46.899 +4.748 +1.101   17 16 Jean - Charles MIGINIAC Team Lompech Sport 1:47.097 +4.946 +0.198   18 22 Marguerite LAFFITE Boutsen Energy Racing 1:47.604 +5.453 +0.507   19 6 Harrie KOLEN Equipe Verschuur 1 1:48.060 +5.909 +0.456   20 73 Angelo BAIGUERA Oregon Team 1 1:48.350 +6.199 +0.290   21 18 Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA Blue Jumeirah Team 1:49.306 +7.155 +0.956