AKKA-ASP and Saintéloc Racing on pole at Zandvoort

Qualifying for the Zandvoort event in Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe saw Vincent Abril (Mercedes-AMG GT3 n°88 – AKKA-ASP) and Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo n°25 – Saintéloc Racing) take the two poles at the end of a session contested on a drying track after the precipitation the day before.

Q1:

The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evos dominated the session for a long time with the #63 – GRT of Mirko Bortolotti and the #563 of Andrea Caldarelli, but Vincent Abril (Mercedes-AMG GT3 n°88 – AKKA-ASP) waited for his last lap, which started just before the checkered flag, to clearly take pole for the first race.

The Gardois achieved the best time in 1'44″572, a full half-second ahead of Bortolotti, the latter ahead of Caldarelli by 30 thousandths. Luca Stolz places the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT4 – Black Falcon in fourth position ahead of first Aston Martin Vantage GT3 n°76 – R-Motorsport by Ricky Collard.

You have to look in sixth position to find any trace of the No. 8 Audi R3 LMS GT55 Evo – Attempto Racing of Steijn Schothorst. The No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT90 – AKKA-ASP of Felipe Fraga took pole in the Silver Cup category while Nyls Stievenart (No. 8 Audi R3 LMS GT24 Evo – Saintéloc Racing) dominated the Pro-Am session.

25th time for Aurélien Panis with the No. 3 Lexus RC F GT23 – Tech 1 Racing, for the team's debut in World Challenge Europe this weekend.

Q2:

If Q1 had been contested on a track that was still wet, not allowing the slick tires to be used effectively, the conditions improved in Q2 and quickly saw the teams choose dry track tires.

And on increasingly fast asphalt, the hierarchy continued to evolve before Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo n°25 – Saintéloc Racing) disagrees with everyone in 1'35″636, 156 thousandths ahead of Dries Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo n°1 – Team WRT), long placed at the forefront.

Maro Engel fails to secure the first row by just four thousandths at the wheel of the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT4 – Black Falcon, and will start tomorrow, Sunday, on the second row alongside Mattia Drudi (No. 8 Audi R3 LMS GT56 Evo). – Attempto Racing), also on pole in the Silver Cup.

The first Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo n°63 – GRT of Christian Engelhart emerges in fifth place, the German starting the second race alongside Jim Pla, best representative of the AKKA-ASP clan in this session, with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 n °87, and dominant in Pro-Am.

Small disappointment for Raffaele Marciello, only seventh with the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT88 – AKKA-ASP, while Vincent Abril had taken pole for race 1.

The first race of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe at Zandvoort will start at 14:35 p.m., and will be followed live on video on our website.