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Spa: Audi on pole, Peugeot caught out by the red flag!

Melo puts Ferrari on pole in GTE Pro - Armindo does the same for Porsche in GTE Am

By Franck Drui

6 May 2011 - 18:03

Audi scored a hat trick in qualifying for the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms. The Ingolstadt firm’s three R18 set the three quickest times with Timo Bernhard in the no. 1 Audi bagging pole in 2m 01.152s.

Peugeot was hoping to take advantage of the closing minutes of qualifying to make up for lost time, but the session was red-flagged and did not restart. In LM P2, pole went to Danny Watts in the Strakka Racing HPD ARX-01d in 2m 10.016s.

In Formula Le Mans, Phil Keen (Neil Garner Motorsport) did the fastest lap.

Melo puts Ferrari on pole in GTE Pro - Armindo does the same for Porsche in GTE Am

The LM GTE qualifying session for the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms was a closely-fought one. Ferrari dominated in GTE Pro and Porsche in GTE Am in the final session before the race.

Patrick Pilet in the no. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR was the first to set a time in LM GTE before being beaten by Nicolas Armindo in the sister car. Then the Ferrari drivers went for it. Dominik Farnbacher in the no. 88 Hankook Team Farnbacher F458 Italia took provisional pole in 2m 21.779s with Giancarlo Fisichella in the no. 51 AF Corse F458 hot on his heels in 2m 21.945s.

The Italian then put in a flyer to take first place in 2m 21.086s, but a few seconds later Jaime Melo in the no. 71 AF Corse Ferrari bested his team-mate with a lap in 2m 20.743s. Rob Bell’s last attempt in 2m 20.915s in the JMW Motorsport Ferrari wasn’t quite good enough to knock the Brazilian off pole.

In LM GTE Am, Marco Cioci in the no. 61 AF Corse F430 GT almost gave Ferrari a double pole in the GTE categories, but his lap in 2m 23.269s wasn’t quite quick enough to beat Armindo in the IMSA Porsche. The German held on to pole repeating his performance at Le Castellet in the first round of the LMS in April.

Pos	#	Team	Driver	Car	Cat	Time	Gap
1	1	Audi Sport Team Joest	T. Bernhard/R. Dumas/M. Rockenfeller	Audi R18 TDI	LM P1	2:01.502
2	2	Audi Sport Team Joest	M. Fassler/A. Lotterer/B. Treluyer	Audi R18 TDI	LM P1	2:01.788	+0.286
3	3	Audi Sport North America	D. Capello/T. Kristensen/A. McNish	Audi R18 TDI	LM P1	2:02.145	+0.643
4	10	Team Oreca Matmut	N. Lapierre/L. Duval/O. Panis	Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP	LM P1	2:05.482	+3.980
5	12	Rebellion Racing	N. Prost/N. Jani	Lola B10/60 Coupe - Toyota	LM P1	2:06.797	+5.265
6	20	Quifel - ASM Team	M. Amaral/O. Pla	Zytek 09SC	LM P1	2:07.290	+5.788
7	16	Pescarolo Team	E. Collard/C. Tinseau/J. Jousse	Pescarolo - Judd	LM P1	2:07.528	+6.026
8	15	Oak Racing	M. Lahaye/G. Moreau/P. Ragues	Oak Pescarolo - Judd	LM P1	2:07.729	+6.227
9	23	MIK Corse	M. Cortes/F. Geri/G. Piccini	Zytek 09 Hybrid	LM P1	2:08.821	+7.319
10	42	Strakka Racing	N. Leventis/D. Watts/J. Kane	HPD ARX -01d	LM P2	2:10.016	+8.514
11	46	TDS Racing	M. Beche/P. Thiriet/J. Firth	Oreca 03 - Nissan	LM P2	2:10.141	+8.639
12	26	Signatech Nissan	F. Mailleux/L. Ordoñez/S. Ayari	Oreca 03 - Nissan	LM P2	2:10.474	+8.972
13	7	Peugeot Sport Total	M. Gene/A. Wurz/A. Davidson	Peugeot 908	LM P1	2:10.725	+9.223
11	45	Boutsen Energy Racing	D. Kraihamer/N. De Crem	Oreca 03 - Nissan	LM P2	2:11.183	+9.681
12	41	Greaves Motorsport	K. Ojjeh/G. Chalandon/T. Kimnber-Smith	Zytek Z11SN - Nissan	LM P2	2:11.218	+9.716
13	40	Race Performance	M. Frey/R. Meichtry/M. Rostan	Oreca 03 - Judd	LM P2	2:11.306	+9.804
17	44	Extreme Limite AM Paris	F. Rosier/J. Luco/M. Basso	Norma M200P - Judd	LM P2	2:11.842	+10.340
18	9	Peugeot Sport Total	P. Lamy/S. Bourdais/S. Pagenaud	Peugeot 908	LM P1	2:12.108	+10.606
19	35	Oak Racing	A. Barlesi/F. Da Rocha/P. Lafargue	Oak Pescarolo - Judd	LM P2	2:12.313	+10.871
20	39	Pecom Racing	L. Perez-Companc/M. Russo/P. Kaffer	Lola B11/40 - Judd	LM P2	2:13.584	+12.082
21	92	Neil Garner Motorsport	J. Hartshorne/S. Keating/P. Keen	Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09	FLM	2:13.592	+12.090
22	33	Level 5 Motorsports	S. Tucker/C. Bouchut/J. Barbosa	Lola Coupe - HPD	LM P2	2:13.851	+12.349
23	43	RLR Msport	B. Gates/R. Garofall/S. Phillips	MG Lola EX265 - Judd	LM P2	2:14.122	+12.620
24	91	Hope Racing	L. Moro/S. Zhang/N. Marroc	Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09	FLM	2:14.431	+12.929
25	99	JMB Racing	M. Rodrigues/J. Menahem/O. Lombard	Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09	FLM	2:17.120	+15.618
26	93	Genoa Racing	E. Julian/C. Zugel/J. Petersen	Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09	FLM	2:18.219	+16.717
27	95	Pegasus Racing	M. Schultis/P. Simon/J. Schell	Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09	FLM	2:18.757	+17.255
28	71	AF Corse	J. Melo/T. Vilander	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:20.743	+19.241
29	66	JMW Motorsport	R. Bell/J. Walker	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:20.915	+19.413
30	51	AF Corse	G. Fisichella/G. Bruni	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:21.086	+19.584
31	77	Team Felbermayr-Proton	M. Lieb/R. Lietz	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Pro	2:21.291	+19.789
32	55	BMW Motorsport	A. Farfus/J. Muller	BMW M3	LM GTE Pro	2:21.460	+19.958
33	89	Hankook Team Farnbacher	D. Farnbacher/A. Simonsen	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:21.779	+20.277
34	56	BMW Motorsport	A. Priaulx/U. Alzen	BMW M3	LM GTE Pro	2:22.219	+20.717
35	76	IMSA Performance Matmut	P. Pilet/W. Henzler	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Pro	2:22.955	+21.453
36	67	IMSA Performance Matmut	N. Armindo/R. Narac	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Am	2:23.007	+21.505
37	58	Luxury Racing	A. Beltoise/F. Jakubowski/J. Deletraz	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:23.063	+21.561
38	61	AF Corse	P. Perazzini/M. Cioci/S. Lemeret	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	2:23.269	+21.767
39	82	CRS Racing	K. Hummel/A. Christodoulou/P. Quaife	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	2:23.485	+21.983
40	75	Prospeed Competition	M. Goosens/M. Holzer	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Pro	2:23.639	+22.137
41	60	Gulf AMR Middle East	F. Giroix/R. Goethe/M. Wainwright	Aston Martin Vantage	LM GTE Am	2:23.727	+22.225
42	70	Kessel Racing	M. Broniszewski/P. Peter	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	2:24.050	+22.548
43	88	Team Felbermayr-Proton	H. Felbermayr Jr/B. Miller	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Am	2:24.599	+23.097
44	50	Larbre Competition	P. Bornhauser/J. Canal/G. Gardel	Corvette C6-ZR1	LM GTE Am	2:24.773	+23.271
45	65	Lotus Jetalliance	J. Hirschi/J. Rossiter/J. Mowlem	Lotus Evora	LM GTE Pro	2:25.124	+23.622
46	62	CRS Racing	P. Ehret/S. Lynn/R. Wills	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	2:25.617	+24.115
47	63	Proton Competition	C. Ried/N. Hommerson	Porsche 911 RSR (997)	LM GTE Am	2:26.797	+25.295
48	59	Luxury Racing	S. Ortelli/F. Makowiecki	Ferrari F458 Italia	LM GTE Pro	2:27.098	+25.596
49	57	Krohn Racing	T. Krohn/N. Jonsson	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	2:28.677	+27.175
50	8	Peugeot Sport Total	F. Montagny/S. Sarrazin/N. Minassian	Peugeot 908	LM P1	-:—.---	+—.---
51	13	Rebellion Racing	A. Belicchi/J. Boullion	Lola B10/60 Coupe - Toyota	LM P1	-:—.---	+—.---
52	64	Lotus Jetalliance	M. Rich/O. Slingerland	Lotus Evora	LM GTE Pro	-:—.---	+—.---
53	72	AF Corse	R. Kauffman/R. Aguas	Ferrari F430	LM GTE Am	-:—.---	+—.---
54	79	Jota	S. Dolan/S. Hancock	Aston Martin Vantage	LM GTE Pro	-:—.---	+—.---