Motorsport: Ready for the big time

The action at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps began on Thursday with free practice on a damp track, and in the evening qualifying the grid positions 21 to 65 were determined. The fastest 20 cars will be eligible for Super Pole Qualifying on Friday at 6 p.m., which is not only about the best starting position but also about prestige. Because at the world's biggest GT3 race, each of the eleven brands present wants to show itself from its best side.

This also applies to the Jaguar brand, which is represented by Emil Frey Racing on a private basis with a two-car team. Even though the starting position is secondary in a 24-hour race, team boss and driver Lorenz Frey is annoyed that neither of the two blue bolides made it into the final qualifying. "We're not where we want to be," he says, explaining his quiet annoyance. "Both cars are the same speed apart from three hundredths of a second, which shows that driver-wise nothing more was possible. But we received another five kilos of ballast before the race and are also worse off in terms of vehicle height compared to other cars, which has a negative impact on the possible top speed. Because in terms of the car's potential, we could theoretically achieve the fastest times."

A race with phenomenal power density
Thus, the first car of Lorenz Frey (CH), Stéphane Ortelli (MC) and Albert Costa (E) will start from 37th position at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, the second with Jonathan Hirschi (CH), Markus Palttala (FIN) and Christian Klien (A) from Neuchâtel follows immediately behind in 39th position. The racers from Switzerland can therefore sneak through the gigantic field in pairs, at least in the initial phase. Its performance density is phenomenal: 24 GT3 sports cars, led by a McLaren 605 S, were within one second of each other, with another 17 cars following in the next second, and this on a 7 km GP circuit.

Swiss pilots show strong performances so far
Where the fastest Swiss will start from will be decided this evening. With the fourth fastest time, the trio around Nico Müller with its Audi R8 LMS easily made it into Super Pole Qualifying. The teams with Philippe Giauque (Audi) from Geneva and Rolf Ineichen (Lamborghini) from Lucerne may also still intervene in the allocation of the best grid positions. AutoSprintCH will report on Saturday from 12 noon until Sunday after the end of the race in an exclusive live ticker from the action and the performance of all Swiss in Spa!

www.24hoursofspa.be
www.emilfreyracing.com
Photos: Peter Wyss