Norman Nato gives pole to G-Drive

Title holders, G-Drive Racing are favorites to take over and proved it from the outset today in qualifying. Norman Nato made us forget the absence of Jean-Eric Vergne – retained in Rome for the Formula E – by taking pole position thanks to a sumptuous lap completed in 1'50"052. Enough to satisfy Aurus, a newcomer to the adventure.

The Frenchman, who shares the wheel of the No. 01 Aurus 26 with Roman Rusinov and Job van Uitert, was 0 ahead of the No. 007 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 driven for the occasion by Paul Loup Chatin, mastered the art of qualifying last year. The duel between Dunlop and Michelin is currently going to the advantage of the former...even if Bibendum completes the top five.

Surprise on the second row of the starting grid with the presence of a Ligier JS P217, the No. 32 of Alex Brundle's United Autosports. The Briton will have tomorrow, at his side, Nicolas lapierre, which proves that this year we will have to count on Cool Racing, which is nevertheless making its debut in the category.

Very solid, Mathieu Lahaye would have deserved to take pole position in LM P3. But the driver of the No. 30 Norma M17 lost narrowly to Damiano Fioravanti (Oregon Team), credited with a 1'49"686. But the Habs confirm that Ultimate, its employer, will be a serious candidate for the title this year. By monopolizing the top quarter of the category, Norma can have a smile.

In GTE, Matteo Cairoli offers pole position to the Porsche 911 RSR n°77 of Dempsey-Proton Racing in the final seconds, thanks to a lap completed in 1'52"499. The Italian was 0”273 ahead of his compatriot Alessandro Pier Guidi, who is driving the Ferrari 488 GTE n°51 from Luzich Racing. The top three is completed by the No. 911 Proton Competition 77 RSR driven during qualifying by Thomas Preining.

Good performance from Michelle Gatting, fifth at the wheel of the No. 488 Kessel Racing Ferrari 83 GTE entrusted to a 100% female trio. The Dane in fact only conceded 1”2 to the reference mark. A gap that she considers too significant, but we must not forget that this is her first appearance in the category.

The start of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, opening round of the European Le Mans Series 2019, will be given tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. An event which will be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr