WEATHER
Grey clouds have settled over Spa Francorchamps, and the early showers turned into a downpour shortly before the final 45-minute qualifying session started.
POLE POSITION FOR HEZEMANS
The lap time of 2:24.053, set by Mike Hezemans and the nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper at the start of Thursday's first qualifying session, remained the fastest time at Spa as the weather grew steadily worse, and Mike claimed his third pole position of the season. The Carsport Viper has dominated all sessions held at Spa this week, including the third qualifying session, and will start from the front of the grid for round seven of the FIA GT Championship. The nr 5 Rafanelli Ferrari 550 Maranello will be alongside the Carsport Viper, followed by all three Paul Belmondo Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs.
TERRIEN TAKES N-GT POLE
David Terrien claimed pole position in the N-GT class, with a time of 2:32.661 in the nr 62 JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena, also set during the first session. Second and third places in the category went to Freisinger Motorsport, with Stephane Ortelli setting the second time in the nr 57 Porsche 996 GT3-R, and Tim Verbergt using his local knowledge to place the nr 58 car third. In Category 2, the nr 88 Belgian Racing Vertigo Streiff took pole, setting the 13th time, while the Land Motorsport Porsche Carrera 996 claimed pole in Category 3, in seventeenth place overall.
THIRD QUALIFYING SESSION
With the rain falling ever heavier, the fastest car on the circuit at the start of the session was the Gammon Megaspeed Porsche 996 GT3-R, with Belgian driver Geoffroy Horion setting a time of 3:03.310. He was a massive 12 seconds faster than the second fastest car, the nr 77 RWS Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R. A number of cars, including the nr 62 JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena, chose not to take part in this session, due to the conditions.
During the first twenty minutes, most cars venturing onto the track set lap times between four and five minutes, compared to yesterday's provisional pole of 2:24.053, and the best time in free practice of 2:22.196. With the track drenched and rain still falling, the N-GT cars lead the field, with the Gammon Megaspeed car followed by the nr 54 Art Engineering Porsche 996 GT3-R, driven today by Collini and Malcharek, the nr 77 RWS Motorsport Porsche, and the Cirtek and Freisinger Porsches. The leading GT car, the GLPK Chrysler Viper GTS-R, with Bert Longin at the wheel, was in sixth place, while the nr 17 Larbre Competition Chéreau Chrysler Viper GTS-R was second among the GTs, in seventh position overall.
Ten minutes before the end of the session, the nr 82 DD Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R improved to second overall. Their lap of 3:05.745 was just over two seconds slower than the Gammon Megaspeed Porsche, and eight seconds faster than Art Engineering's time of 3:13.210. Towards the end of the session, the lap times began to come down, with most cars setting times in the 3-minute bracket. The rain slowed in the final moments, and the nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper, with Thierry Tassin at the wheel, ended the reign of the N-GT cars. There was a rush of improvements in the last minutes, but it was too late for any real hope of surpassing Thursdays' times. This mean that when the chequered flag came out at 11:45, Mike Hezemans had claimed the third pole position of the season for the nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R.
Created and Designed by Joe Favata
