Glickenhaus Racing took a surprise pole position in qualifying for the 2022 6 Hours of Spa, with the Alpine qualifying in second.
In a topsy-tuvy session, Olivier Pla in the #708 Glickenhaus 007 claimed pole simply by stringing together three quick sectors – something the works Toyotas were unable to do. Pla’s time of 2:02.771 represented the Frenchman’s three fastest sectors in the session, showing how well he hooked up his Glickenhaus 007 LMH.
The same can’t be said for the Toyotas, who struggled significantly for pace in the second sector particularly. Kamui Kobayashi was quickest in sector 1 and sector 3 but slowest of all – even behind the LMP2 runners – in sector 2, which likely cost the Japanese driver pole position.
Second fastest was the #36 Alpine, with the #7 and the #8 Toyotas following on the second row of the grid.
In LMP2, Alessio Rovera pulled out a last-minute flyer in the #83 AF Corse Oreca to secure class pole for the Pro/Am entry. Championship favourites WRT were second fastest in their home race, with United Autosports starting Saturday’s race in third.
Porsche top in GTE Pro
Porsche continued its dominance in Spa by locking out the front row in GTE qualifying. Instead of perennial polesetters Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, this time it was Gianmaria Bruni in the #91 who set the pace. The Italian and teammate Richard Lietz will start a WEC race from class pole for the first time since Le Mans 2019.
Third fastest was the #64 Corvette of Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner, while the pair of works Ferraris were unable to get on the same pace as the leading Porsches and will start Saturday’s race from 4th and 5th on the grid.
In the GTE Am class, Aston Martin locked out the front row with pole position going to the TF Sport squad (#33). Northwest AMR (#98) will also start from the front row, with the Project 1 Porsche (#56) in third.
All of the lap times from the sessions are available here: Hypercar & LMP2 and LMGTE Pro & Am. The race begins on Saturday 7 May 2022 at 13:00 CEST Further information is available in our race calendar.