Doquin & Mastronardi Take First Poles In 2021 Le Mans Cup
An overcast and somewhat chilly Catalunya track saw 31 LMP3 and GT3 cars take to the track for the first Michelin Le Mans Cup qualifying practice of the season with the mandatory Bronze-graded driver taking on driving duties.
GT3
In the GT3 category it was Nikki Leutwiler in the PZ Oberer Zürichsee Porsche 911 GT3 R that made the early running before being eclipsed by Rino Mastronardi in his Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3. The Italian setting a session best 1:45.571 to take pole-position by almost three tenths of a second over the Swiss Porsche driver.
The battle for third on the grid raged between two Belgians as Iron Lynx’s Sarah Bouvy and 10Q Racing Team’s Wim Spinoy traded times throughout the session. A 1:47.564 saw Bouvy edge out her countryman for third with Ken Abe qualifying in fifth in the AF Corse 488 GT3, setting a 1:49.021 despite several cancelled laptimes due to tracklimits.
LMP3
No fewer than 26 LMP3’s battled for pole-position in the LMP3 session and it soon emerged that three drivers would be duking it out for pole position. Phoenix Racing had two drivers in the mix with Finn Gehrsitz and Thorsten Kratz trading fastest laptimes before Antoine Doquin in the Cool Racing Ligier turned in an ultimately unbeatable 1:40.803.
Gehrsitz got close in the Phoenix Ligier but missed out by just over a tenth of a second while Kratz in the WTM powered by Phoenix Duqueine was another two tenths back. Mülhner Motorsport’s Mathias Luethen, Team Virage’s Julien Gerbi and Nielsen Racing’s Anthony Wells rounded out the top six in an intense qualifying session.
Le Mans Cup – Barcelona – Qualifying
The first 120-minute Michelin Le Mans Cup race will start at 16:30 CET today.
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