QUALIFYING : Iron Lynx Proton Score Debut ELMS LMP2 Pole at Mugello
Matteo Cairoli put the Iron Lynx-Proton Oreca at the front of the grid the 4 Hours of Mugello, the Italian driver also recording the first ever overall pole position for the Iron Lynx and Proton Competition teams. The qualifying session was interrupted by a Red Flag towards the end of the session, with qualifying restarting with a 2-minute dash to the chequered flag.
The session started with the no10 Vector Sport Oreca of Patrick Pilet setting the early pace, but Cairoli was soon pushing ahead with a 1m33.241 lap in the no9 Iron Lynx-Proton Oreca-Gibson.
Charles Milesi in the no65 Panis Racing also made a bid for the top spot, the French driver posting a 1m33.133 which briefly held the pole position before Cairoli went quicker again, recording a 1m32.829 at the halfway point of the session, a time that wouldn’t be bettered.
Malthe Jakobsen and Alex Lynn went third and second fastest in the no37 COOL Racing and no25 Algarve Pro Racing Orecas respectively just before the red flag came out to stop the session when the no10 Vector Sport Oreca went off into the gravel trap at T4.
The car was quickly removed and the session resumed with 2 minutes and 39 minutes left on the clock.The no65 Panis Racing Oreca went up into second place at the chequered flag, with Milesi’s time of 1m32.866 just 0.037s slower than Cairoli.
LMP2 PRO/AM: Giorgio Roda Returns to the Top in Mugello
Former LMGTE ELMS Champion Giorgio Roda took his fourth LMP2 Pro/Am pole of the 2024 season in the no77 proton Competition Oreca after narrowly missing out on the top spot in Belgium to Rodrigo Sales last month.
The tables were turned in Mugello with Roda claiming the pole with a 1m35.840 lap with 2-minutes left on the clock, leaving Rodrigo Sales in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS Oreca to try and close the 0.3 second gap, which the American was unable to do.
John Falb had also briefly held the provisional pole position in the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca but had to settle for third place on the grid for tomorrow’s race, with the no19 Team Virage in 4thdriven by Georgios Kolovos.
LMP3: Second Pole of 2024 for COOL Racing
Reigning LMP3 Champions COOL Racing scored their second pole of the 2024 ELMS season, with Manuel Espirito Santo heading the class in qualifying for the 4 Hours of Mugello.
The Portuguese set a 1m41.083 lap early in the session and it wasn’t bettered despite the best efforts of the rest of the field.The pole lap set by the no17 Ligier was 0.462 ahead of the second placed car, the no4 DKR Engineering Duqueine driven by Wyatt Brichacek.The Duqueine was fighting all the way to the chequered flag, but a spin on the final lap meant the American will start in second place on the front row.
Row two is headed the no88 Inter Europol Competition Ligier after Kai Askey jumped up the order with a 1m41.554, just 0.009s behind the no4 Duqueine. The second row is completed by the no31 Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier after a great lap by Antoine Doquin to move from 9thto 4thon the last lap of the session.
Championship leaders Eurointernational finished the session in 9thplace, with their nearest championship rivals in the no15 RLR MSport Ligier in 7th.
LMGT3: Derek Deboer Scores debut LMGT3 ELMS Pole with Racing Spirit of Leman
The identity of the LMGT3 pole position holder went down to the final seconds of the 15-minute session, with the no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin and Derek Deboer taking the top spot despite a late challenge by Sarah Bovy in the no85 Iron Dames Porsche.
Martin Berry led the way in the early part of the session, with the no97 Grid Motorsport by TF Aston Martin with a best lap of 1m48.112.The times were really close with the top three cars split by 0.078s, with Sarah Bovy in second on a 1m48.128 and Johnny Laursen in the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari on 1m48.190.
With 90 seconds left on the clock the no85 Porsche went to the top with Bovy posting a 1m48.015 but it wasn’t long before the no59 Aston Martin went even faster, with Derek Deboer posting a 1m47.891 as the chequered flag was shown.Bovy was on another flying lap and was ahead in Sector One and Sector 2 but lost time in Sector Three and didn’t improve.
The no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin will start on pole position with the no85 Porsche alongside on the front row.The no97 Grid Motorsport by TF Aston Martin will head row two, with the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari alongside in 4th.
The 4 Hours of Mugello is due to start at 11h30 on Sunday 29 September and is Round 5 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series.
Results are HERE
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