Ferrari Challenge: Monje takes advantage of the red!

The qualifying session for the Ferrari Challenge Europe saw Fernando Monje secure pole position at the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

The qualifications of the Classic Ferrari for sale Challenge Europe had plenty of surprises in store this Thursday morning on the Circuit des 24 Hours of Le MansAt the end of a session prematurely interrupted by a red flag, Fernando Monje secured pole position at the wheel of his Ferrari 296 Challenge in 3'53″385.

The driver of car #74 finished 309 thousandths ahead of Dylan Medler (car #15), while Ide (car #22), the first representative of the Trofeo Pirelli Am category, climbed to a remarkable third place in the overall standings, just 0.510 seconds off the benchmark.

Behind this trio, Sergio Paulet (No. 1) and Hendrik Viol (No. 92) complete the top five, while Morrow (No. 4), second in the Pirelli Am class, moved up to sixth. This rather unexpected hierarchy contrasts sharply with the trends observed since the start of the season and promises a particularly exciting first race.

The lucky ones and the others

While Monje perfectly exploited the track conditions to set the fastest time, the session ended with a sense of incompleteness. A red flag brought the session to a halt in the final moments, depriving the competitors of the traditional "money time" where the front-row positions are often decided on the long Le Mans circuit. With over 13 kilometers remaining, slipstreaming on the Mulsanne Straight and track positioning play a crucial role, generally prompting drivers to prepare a final push in the closing minutes.

Several favorites were thus unable to complete their final flying lap. This was notably the case for championship leader Michael Verhagen, who finished only seventh, 1.236 seconds off pole position. The Dutchman also shared the same time as Giacomo Rinaldo, a testament to the strength of the field.

Under these circumstances, the starting grid might not reflect the true pecking order of the weekend. This should provide us with some great racing right from Race 1, this Thursday at 18:30 PM, before Race 2 on Friday from 10:05 AM to 10:50 AM.