Tambay sends Saintéloc Audi to the front in Monza pre-qualifying

Tambay sends Saintéloc Audi to the front in Monza pre-qualifying

Saintéloc Racing's #25 Audi hit the front in Monza pre-qualifying thanks to a 1m47.673s lap from Adrien Tambay.

The experienced Frenchman has returned to GT3 competition this season and is already showing front-running pace in the car he shares with Christopher Haase and Alexandre Cougnaud. The #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW was second quickest in the hands of Marco Wittmann, who was 0.124s shy of Tambay's benchmark. 

Nelson Panciatici was third quickest overall and once again topped the Pro-Am runners in the #107 CMR Bentley. The French driver finished ahead of class rivals Eddie Cheever III (#93 Sky Tempesta Ferrari) and Nico Bastian (#2 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG) as Pro-Am cars completed the top-five.

Toksport WRT led the Silver Cup category with its #7 Mercedes-AMG. Marvin Dienst set the time, placing 12th overall with a 1m48.424s. Full session times can be viewed here.

All 43 cars on this weekend's entry list took part in the 90-minute session, which was stopped early after the #222 Allied-Racing Porsche hit the barriers exiting the second of the Lesmos. The car suffered heavy front-end damage in the incident. 

Attention will now shift to the Fanatec Esports Arena for the launch of the new Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series. All teams with Pro and Silver Cup line-ups must nominate one of their driver to take part, with points on offer towards the overall and Silver teams' championships. Qualifying begins at 18.20 CET, while the race gets underway at 18.55.

Back on the circuit, qualifying takes place tomorrow morning at 09.00, while the season-opening race goes green at 15.00. As ever, all of the action – real and virtual – will be streamed live on the series' official website and social media channels.