Gounon gives Boutsen VDS maiden Fanatec GT Europe pole at Magny-Cours

It was by no means a straightforward session. There was a red flag before anyone had completed a flying lap after the #12 and 21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martins made contact at the final corner, while only three cars had set a reprsentative time when the #44 Schumacher CLRT Porsche found the gravel at Turn 3, causing another stoppage.

This set up a dramatic five-minute dash for pole. There were strong efforts from Thierry Vermeulen (#69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari) and Maro Engel (#48 Winward Racing Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG) before Gounon laid down his benchmark of 1m35.537s. The time could not be beaten, though Tom Gamble was able to prevent a Mercedes-AMG front-row lockout by jumping to P2 aboard the #159 Garage 59 McLaren with a 1m35.672s.

Gamble looked capable of going one better on his second flying lap, but the British driver encountered traffic and ultimately pulled into the pits without taking the chequered flag. Nevertheless, second on the grid is the best starting position for the team this season.

The #48 Mercedes-AMG will roll off from third, alongside the #6 Liqui-Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup Audi. Max Hofer gave the German squad a second successive Gold Cup pole, qualifying half a second faster than his closest class rival.

The #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari starts fifth, followed by the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin and the #69 Ferrari. Charles Weerts will start eighth overall in the championship-leading #32 Team WRT BMW.

Ivan Klymenko scored Silver Cup pole aboard the #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi. The Ukrainian produced purple sectors during the session, qualifying ninth overall to cap another excellent showing. The #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi completed the overall top 10.

Garage 59 will start from Bronze Cup pole after a typically impressive display from Miguel Ramos. The Portuguese racer qualified 18th overall, edging the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche of Dustin Blattner. 

Results are HERE