Kelvin van der Linde put the #32 BMW M4 GT3 Evo of WRT on pole position in Magny-Cours. He and Charles Weerts will start the final race of the GT World Challenge Powered by AWS Sprint Cup from P1.
With a lap of 1:35.927, he beat the next fastest Pro car – the #7 Aston Martin of Nicki Thiim – with over two tenths. Behind Thiim, the margins were tight. Christopher Haase slotted in on P3, missing out on P2 by just 0.043 seconds.
For Van der Linde, it felt extremely good. “The car was amazing,” he tells GT REPORT. “We did some changes overnight, which I thought might help us. The track obviously rubbed in a bit from the race on Saturday. It was great. The team did an amazing job and I’m glad I could deliver after a tough first race. I think we need to try and stay there for the race.”
The Saturday proved to be difficult for the WRT crew, with Weerts qualifying on the ninth starting row, getting stuck in the traffic of the race, and the pair finishing in P7. Van der Linde and Weerts obviously aimed for more, as they are leading the Sprint Cup standings.
The key factors behind the pole position
Van der Linde points out that the season’s finale is not far away now, meaning every point and win counts. With a pole position in the bag, that can become easier on Sunday. “It’s very important for the championship. We’re just getting closer and closer to the final stages,” he continues.
His pole lap deserves some praise for sure, as a gap of two tenths on a short track like Magny-Cours is impressive. “I had my plan when I went out. I did a very quick warm-up phase and just had in my mind what I wanted to do. Obviously, as the Sunday driver, you don’t drive a lot leading up to the race,” he explains.
“That makes it quite difficult to know what to do in qualifying, but I had an idea what I did last year. I had a look at some of that stuff and just tried to execute it today.” The race will start at 15:30 CEST – 5,5 hours earlier than Saturday, meaning different circumstances to, as the temperatures will be higher.
“I think that will help us,” Van der Linde says. “We struggled a bit for tire temperature last night, so I’m hoping that it’s going to suit us a bit better.”
