GTWCE Monza: BMW sweeps front rows as power outage cuts short qualifying

Qualifying for Sunday’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS at Autodromo Nazionele Monza has been cut short due to another power outage. After two out of three sessions were completed, BMW swept the first two rows with the #98 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly taking pole position.

In the opening session the Bronze Cup #188 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 held the top spot with Henrique Chaves setting a 1m46.360sec leading three BMWs from Team WRT and Rowe Racing.

Sheldon van der Linde, whose #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 held sixth place in Q1, jumped up to first place with a 1m45.957sec.

However, on aggregate pole position went to the #98 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 with Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann averaging a 1m46.274sec in the first two sessions. Nick Yelloly, who was planned to take on Qualifying 3, never got out on track as a power outage curtailed the session.

The #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi starts second, with Farfus and Martin setting a combined 1m46.290sec, just hundredths quicker than teammates Vanthoor and Van der Linde in the #32 WRT BMW whose 1m46.316sec keeps them just ahead of the #998 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 of BMW Juniors Dan Harper, Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse (1m46.349sec).

Fastest of the non-BMWs was the #25 Saintéloc Junoir Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Christopher Mies, Patric Niederhauser and Simon Gachet. Mies and Niederhauser set an average of 1m46.409sec, lining them up on the grid alongside the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper (1m46.565sec).

Seventh place eventually went to the #188 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 that was placed first in Q1 by Henrique Chaves, with Miguel Ramos completed the second session to take the pole in the Bronze Cup.

The Gold Cup pole was taken by the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 of Charlie Fagg, Sam de Haan and Dean Macdonald with eleventh place on the grid, while the Silver Cup pole went to the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Lorenzo Patrese, Pietro Delli Guanti and Alex Aka who will start from thirteenth. In the Pro-Am Cup it was success at home for Italian GT regulars BMW Italia Ceccato Racing who saw their #15 BMW M4 GT3 placed on class pole and 38th overall by Stefano Comandini and Marco Cassara with Francesco Guerra missing out on Q3.