By Tarek Ramchani
The FIA WEC qualifying session just ended at Spa-Francorchamps. The factory Audi R18 e-tron quattros pushed hard but were not able to fight for pole position in the 20-minute session.
The works Porsches were simply the fastest today. Pole position went to the #17 919 Hybrid with drivers Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley. Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy were second with the #19 Porsche. Third fastest was the #18 car of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb.
The best ranked Audi is the #7 R18 e-tron quattro driven by André Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and Marcel Fassler. The three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winners will start from the second row and qualified in fourth overall with an average lap time of 1:55.540.
Their team-mates Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis qualified in fifth place overall. The drivers of the #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro set an average lap time of 1:56.541
The two Toyota TS040 Hybrid cars from Toyota Gazoo Racing were sixth and seventh.
The #9 R18 e-tron quattro shared by René Rast, Filipe Albuquerque and Marco Bonanomi qualified in eighth place. They set an average lap time of 1:58.000.
In the other classes, G-Drive Racing took LMP2 pole position with the #26 Ligier JS P2 - Nissan. In the Grand Touring division it was an all Aston Martin Racing affair, the factory Aston Martin Vantage GTEs secured pole positions in both GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.
The 6-hour race is set for tomorrow.
Photo credit: Audi Media
