Vanthoor keeps Audi Sport Team WRT on top in pre-qualifying

Vanthoor keeps Audi Sport Team WRT on top in pre-qualifying

The #32 Audi Sport Team WRT entry remained on top during Pre-Qualifying as Dries Vanthoor continued the Belgian squad's impressive start at Spa-Francorchamps. 

Vanthoor trimmed almost three tenths off crew-mate Kelvin van der Linde's best effort from this morning's Free Practice, posting a 2m18.787s during the early stages of the 60-minute session. Thereafter, no one could get within three tenths of the Audi Sport ace. 

The closest to doing so was Marvin Kirchhöfer (#188 Garage 59 Aston Martin), who circulated in 2m19.139s and put his team on top of the Pro-Am standings, while third spot went to the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW. Marco Wittmann was at the wheel of the M6 GT3 to register a 2m19.170s, falling just 0.031s shy of the #188 Aston. 

Next up were a pair of Porsches – the #22 from GPX Racing and the #21 Rutronik Racing – followed by the #88 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP. Seven brands were represented among the overall top-10, with Bentley (P7) and McLaren (P10) also showing well. 

Indeed, the #107 CMR Bentley made an excellent recovery from a difficult morning by finishing seventh overall and topping the Silver Cup class. Pierre-Alexandre Jean was impressive, recording a 2m19.228s for the French squad. The #23 Huber Motorsport Porsche was again fastest in the Am Cup thanks to a 2m21.760s from Nico Menzel. 

The #911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche caused the only stoppage of the session when its tyre deflated at Blanchimont with 17 minutes left on the clock. This caused a spectacular spin that rotated the car through a polystyrene advertising board, though there was no significant damage to the Robert Renauer-driven 911 GT3-R and the track went green once again with eight minutes left on the clock. 

Cars will be back on-track a 20:50 for the most important session of the day: Qualifying. This will establish the 20 fastest competitors who will progress to tomorrow's Super Pole, while also locking in grid positions 21 through 58 for this weekend's race. Live coverage will be broadcast on the GTWorld YouTube channel and across the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa social media platforms.