Comtoyou Racing took pole position for the GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup at the Nürburgring, with the #7 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim topping the combined qualifying classification. The Belgian team secured the top spot through its overall pace across the three qualifying sessions, despite not setting the fastest lap in any individual session.
After a gloomy, rainy end to the Saturday in the Eifel, the teams continued with qualifying on Sunday morning in the sunlight. Paradine Competition continued their competitive form by setting an early benchmark of 1:55.203 with the #992 BMW M4 GT3 Evo, while Ferrari slotted in on P2. Soon the times quickened, causing the #97 to shoot to P1 in the timing table with a 1:54.666.
Q1: Paradine and Garage 59 unleashed in Bronze and Gold Cups
Track evolution was quick and obvious, as P1 in the timing list was passed down from one car to the other rather fast. After ten minutes, the pace quickened to a 1:54.100, set by the #991 Paradine BMW – already a second faster than the early benchmark set at the beginning of the session.
The B group of the qualifiers was up next, with the Pro and Gold cars heading out on track. In the first minutes, the lap set by Dries Vanthoor in the #991 remained on top. Ricciardo Feller attempted to attack it on his first lap, but came up one tenth short. It was Thomas Fleming who managed to beat it, putting the #58 McLaren on P1 with a 1:54.069.
Kelvin van der Linde found more pace to take two tenths off Fleming’s time in the #32 WRT BMW. Nico Menzel, subbing in for Alessandro Ghiretti in the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche sped to P4, but needed to find more time to be able to close the gap to the top three. Fleming was unleashed: at the end of Q1 he put the #58 McLaren on provisional pole again with a 1:53.412.
Q2: Preining’s mega lap edges McLaren
The qualifying session moved on after the drivers of all cars were switched. Immediately the #991 and #992 Paradine BMW were on the pace again, speeding to a 1:55.039 with Darren Leung behind the wheel. The #44 McLaren, however, managed to clock a 1:54.861. After the rapid track evolution, the times of the A group were now slower than in Q1. Faster times started to roll in soon after, with the #74 Ferrari clocking a 1:54.357. The margins were obviously tight at the front, with the #9 Porsche slotting just 0.056 seconds behind the Kessel Racing Ferrari.
At the end of Q2 A, the #74 remained the quickest Bronze car, while the #30 BMW put in the fastes lap for the Silver cars. Meanwhile, the B group started their Q2, with Konsta Lappalainen putting the #60 Ferrari to work first. With just six minutes remaining, the JMW Motorsport Ferrari set a 1:55.463, while Thomas Preining was pushing the #80 Porsche to its limit by setting purple sectors. He put Lionspeed GP on a 1:53.710, setting the fastest time of the day just yet.
Again the McLarens were quick, with the #59 and #58 going for a full attack on the timetable. Aston Martin joined the mix in the top five as well, with Sorenson putting the #7 just 0.011s behind Preining. The top five was divided by just 0.026s. The #32 BMW was looking for opportunities as well, slotting in on P5 with a minimal margin to the front runners.
Q3: Comtoyou moves into pole position
Like in the previous two Qualifying parts, McLaren was immediately on the pace. Ben Dörr was the first one to put a lap on the board for the Silver cars, setting a 1:54.690, and improving to a 1:54.496. The #30 BMW hit back with a 1:54.484 with Amaury Cordeel now behind the wheel, putting it on provisional P1 with a margin of about 0.012s to the #23. Mercedes-AMG joined the party at the front by going to a provisional P1 in Bronze Cup, with the #222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes speeding to a 1:54.493.
The result was particularly impressive because the #7 was not the fastest car in any individual qualifying session, but its combined average was enough to put Comtoyou on pole.
The #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Maxime Martin, Maximilian Götz and Fabian Schiller came closest, averaging just 0.127 seconds slower than Comtoyou. The #80 Lionspeed GP–PK Motorsport Porsche of Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus completed the front row, just 0.198s off pole.
The #59 Garage 59 McLaren of Joseph Loake, Dean Macdonald and Marvin Kirchhöfer was fourth, while the #32 Team WRT BMW of Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts completed the top five. The top five were separated by less than three tenths of a second in the combined classification.
In the class battles, #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 secured Gold Cup pole, #30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 took Silver Cup pole, while #222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 claimed pole position in the Bronze Cup.
Championship pressure for Winward
Further down the order, the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Lucas Auer, Luca Stolz and Maro Engel will start from P8.
Despite its starting position, the championship situation is straightforward, if the #48 finishes fourth or higher, the crew will secure the championship regardless of where championship rivals Comtoyou Racing and Garage 59 finish. The two teams currently sit second and third in the standings respectively.
The three-hour Endurance Cup race at the Nürburgring is scheduled to get underway at 15:00 CEST, with Comtoyou Racing leading the field from pole position.
