Cocker and Ruffier on pole

QUALIFYING RACE ONE: ANOTHER DIFFERENT POLEMAN…JONATHAN COCKER

Jonathan Cocker, in the nr 44 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9, claimed his first FIA GT3 pole position of the season, with a time of 1.21.683. The young British driver was the seventh different man on pole position since the beginning of the season, with Barwell Motorsport the seventh different team to set the pole position. In the nr 13 Reiter Enginnering Lamborghini Gallardo GT3, Phil Bastiaans set the second fastest time, the best performance of the season so far for a Lamborghini. Four different makes were in the top 6, and once again 16 cars were within just two seconds !

In the nr 32 JMB Racing Ferrari, Ian Khan was the first driver to claim provisional pole, but all the times increased quickly. On his first flying lap, Massimiliano Mugelli, in the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBR9, went off at the end of the straight line, but after a while, he managed to get back on track.
In the nr 13 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo GT3, Phil Bastiaans claimed provisional pole position with a time of 1.22.661, but first the nr 29 Pouchelon Racing Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Anthony Reid, and then the nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Jean-Luc Blanchemain, improved on the best time. Than it was time for the Aston Martin DBRS9, as Jonathan Cocker on nr 44 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 set the fastest time with a lap of 1.21.683, while Toni Seiler in the nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 set the second time.
Five minutes before the end of the session, Jonathan Cocker in the nr 44 Aston Martin was in the lead, in front of Phil Bastiaans (nr 13 Lamborghini), who had improved his time to move up to 2nd position, Toni Seiler (nr 24 Aston Martin), Jean-Luc Blanchemain (nr 10 Dodge Viper), Anthony Reid (nr 29 Dodge Viper) and Stephane Daoudi, who was 6th in the nr 34 JMB Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3. All the cars were within one second!
During the last minute, the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin of Massimiliano Mugelli went off the track in the “Pouas” corner, damaging the car. The team did not know if they will be able to start the first race.

QUALIFYING RACE TWO: Second pole position for James Ruffier

The Corvettes are efficient on this fast and technical track, and for the first time of the season, a driver claimed his second pole position. Although Christopher Campbell was on provisional pole for most of the session, James Ruffier managed to do a perfect flying lap during the final minutes, setting the pole position with a lap of 1.20.910. After his pole in Oschersleben, James Ruffier is the first driver to set two pole positions in the new FIA GT3 European Championship. Three Corvettes were in the top three, as Christopher Campbell set the second-fastest time and Jürgen von Gartzen the third. Championship leader, Patrick Bornhauser was fourth, first of the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, and in fifth, Michael Bentwood was the fastest of the Aston Martin.

As usual all the drivers needed a few laps before they began to set significant times. With a lap of 2.21.810, Sean Edwards, on nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 996 GT3 Cup was the first to do a good time, but immediately nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Competition Coupe of Patrick Bornhauser increased. But Frenchman Christopher Campbell, a former driving instructor on this track,  set a lap of 1.21.073 in the nr 21 Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3, and claimed the provisional pole position, with the fastest lap of the week-end so far. Jurgen Von Gartzen, in the nr 18 Team Carsport Callaway set the second time, with a a lap of 1.21.258. So, after 10 minutes, Campbell was leading ahead of Jürgen von Gartzen (nr 18 Corvette), Patrick Bornhauser (nr 10 Dodge Viper), Sean Edwards (nr 9 Porsche) and Marco Cioci (nr 26 Dodge Viper).
A few drivers waited for the final moments of the session to increase their time. In the nr 19 Riverside Corvette, James Ruffier set the second time, then with a time in 1.20.910, James Ruffier claimed his second pole position of the season, while Michael Bentwood, with the nr 22 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9,  improved to fifth position.

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