The #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Shane Van Gisbergen set the fastest time of the two qualifying sessions for the 2016 edition of the Total 24 Hours of Spa. On his first flying lap in the second session, the Kiwi improved on the time set by Maxi Götz (#86 AMG-Team HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG) during the first session, lapping a mere 0.058 of a second faster. Dani Juncadella clocked the third time overall with the #56 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG and set the fastest time in the Pro-Am Cup. With the 20 fastest cars still participating in Friday's Superpole, the pole position in the Am Cup went to the #888 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Niki Cadei, while Grégory Paisse took the pole in the National Group at the wheel of the #230 SpeedLover Porsche.
During both qualifying sessions the 'sweet spot' was to be found at the beginning of the session, with teams preferring to focus on the race set-up afterwards. While Maxi Götz, one of the 2013 Total 24 Hours of Spa winners, was on top at the end of the first 75-minute session, Shane Van Gisbergen took advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures at the start of the night session to edge in front of the German driver. The polesitter of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour lapped the Spa track in 2'18.474, only three tenths above last year's pole position time.
Dani Juncadella's first session lap time was good enough to put his #56 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG on top of the Pro-Am Cup, but since four Pro-Am Cup cars qualified for Friday's Superpole, pole position in the category will be decided at the same time as the overall pole position.
However, in the Am Cup and the National Group the fight for the best starting position was decided during the two qualifying sessions. Niki Cadei only needed three laps in the #888 Kessel Racing Ferrari to claim top spot in the Am Cup (and 36th overall), while the duel between the two National Group Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was decided in favour of the #230 SpeedLover car, with Grégory Paisse setting the fastest time in the first session.
With the starting positions 21 to 65 decided this evening, the top-20 positions will be determined during Friday's Superpole, which starts at 18.00. Since 24 cars qualified within the same second on Thursday, the fight for the best starting position promises to be exciting. The 30-minute session will be streamed live on the websites of the Total 24 Hours of Spa and the Blancpain GT Series.
Shane van Gisbergen (#58 Garage 59 McLaren): “It was a pretty tough start to the day with the weather but it got better and better. The car was not too good to begin with but we chipped away at the set-up and got there in the end. We were 19th at the end of the first qualifying session, so right on the edge and needed to do a better job tonight! Of course, that has only got us into the Super Pole shootout but we are happy with where we are.”
Maxi Götz (#86 AMG-Team HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG): “I think the best time in practice was a 2m18.6s and I managed a point-five in qualifying. There were not many drivers under the 2m19s barrier either. I just wanted to get out there and find a space, which I managed to do. After that we were fairly confident no-one would beat the time.”
Dani Juncadella (#56 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG): “My first experience here in the car was a few weeks ago racing in British GT, and we lacked a bit of pace. So obviously it is really nice to be sitting here. We made a big step with the set-up today; in Pre-Qualifying I was one second off but pulled out a really good lap this evening. I would like to be greedy and try for a good outright grid position tomorrow, but we know there will be a big fight to win the Pro-Am class, which is our main goal. But seeing the result today obviously makes me want to go for overall pole!”
Nicola Cadei (#888 Kessel Racing Ferrari): “I only needed three laps in the end, although we did spend some time fine-tuning the car during Pre-Qualifying. During my first lap I found a car in the middle of Blanchimont, which spoiled that run and kept us out of the Super Pole, which was our initial aim.”
Grégory Paisse (#230 SpeedLover Porsche): "It's my first time in this event, so it's a bit of a dream come true. It's fantastic to drive here, with the best GT cars and drivers in the world. I don't have words to describe my feelings."
