Porsche Teams Face Tough Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps

In a challenging qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, the Porsche teams faced significant hurdles as they prepared for the six-hour race. The Manthey 1st Phorm team secured the eighth grid position in the LMGT3 class, while the Iron Dames finished 13th. The Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team, despite high hopes after a strong practice session, struggled to find pace, leaving them outside the hyperpole contention.

Key Takeaways

• Manthey 1st Phorm's Porsche 911 GT3 R starts from P8 in the LMGT3 class.

• Iron Dames finish qualifying in P13.

• Porsche Penske Motorsport's No. 6 and No. 5 entries miss hyperpole, qualifying in P12 and P13 respectively.

• The race is set to begin on Saturday, May 10, at 2 PM CEST.

Overview of Qualifying Performance

The qualifying session for the Porsche teams was marked by unexpected difficulties. The Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team, which had shown promise by setting the fastest time in the second free practice session, could not replicate that success during qualifying.

• Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 6: Kévin Estre, sharing the car with Laurens Vanthoor and Pascal Wehrlein, faced oversteer issues that forced him to abandon his second flying lap. They qualified in 12th place.

• Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 5: Julien Andlauer, alongside Michael Christensen and Nico Müller, finished just outside the top ten in 13th place, missing hyperpole by a narrow margin of two-tenths of a second.

Insights from the Teams

Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh, expressed disappointment over the qualifying results, stating, "We expected the gap to the frontrunners to be smaller. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case."

Despite the setbacks, the teams remain optimistic about the race ahead. Andlauer noted, "We’re focusing on tomorrow’s race. Hopefully, we can battle our way back up the order and score plenty of points."

LMGT3 Class Highlights

In the LMGT3 class, the Manthey 1st Phorm team had a strong showing with Ryan Hardwick setting the second-fastest time in the first qualifying session. However, Riccardo Pera's efforts in the second part of qualifying only secured them eighth place on the grid.

• Iron Dames: Célia Martin drove the Iron Dames 911 GT3 R to a 13th place finish, continuing their mission to promote women in motorsport.

Upcoming Race Details

The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, is scheduled to start on Saturday, May 10, at 2 PM local time (CEST). The teams will look to leverage their race strategies and capitalize on any opportunities during the endurance race.

Qualifying Results Summary

Class	Position	Driver(s)	Car Model	Time
Hypercar	1	Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen	Ferrari #50	1:59.617
	12	Estre/Vanthoor/Wehrlein	Porsche 963 #6	2:01.512
	13	Andlauer/Christensen/Müller	Porsche 963 #5	2:01.588
	14	Jani/Pino/Varrone	Porsche 963 #99	2:01.837
LMGT3	1	Robin/Gehrsitz/Nakayama	Lexus #78	2:17.732
	8	Hardwick/Lietz/Pera	Porsche 911 GT3 R	2:18.917
	13	Frey/Gatting/Martin	Porsche 911 GT3 R	2:20.320