Image: Ferrari
Antonio Fuoco secured the pole position for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race. The Ferrari driver clocked an impressive lap time of 2:02.600 aboard the Ferrari 499P #50, beating Matt Campbell in the Porsche 963 #6 by over half a second.
During the 15-minute session to determine the top 10 cars competing in the Hypercar category, there was a tense moment between the two Porsches at Les Combes. Matt Campbell in the Porsche 963 #5 almost lost control of his car, causing Kevin Estre in the Porsche #6 to almost collide with him.
Fortunately, both drivers managed to avoid contact and continued through the escape area. However, it was undoubtedly a nerve-wracking moment for the Porsche team!
Brendon Hartley, driving the Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8, was the first to clock a lap time of 2:10.044. With the tires not fully warmed up yet, he improved on his next lap with a time of 2:02.586. Campbell closely followed, just 0.344 seconds slower, with Estre a few tenths behind his teammate.
Charles Milesi in the Alpine A424 #35 then put in an impressive lap, securing second place with a time of 2:02.898, followed by Robin Frijns in the BMW M Hybrid V8 #15.
However, Robert Kubica in the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 #83 managed to surpass them, although he was still nearly three tenths slower than Hartley. Campbell then settled for second place, less than a tenth behind the Toyota leader.
Antonio Fuoco, representing Ferrari in the Ferrari 499P #50, ended up setting the fastest time, beating Hartley by 1.24 seconds.
The cars advancing to the Hyperpole session were Cadillac #2, the two factory Porsches, Porsche Proton #99 driven by Julien Andlauer, the lone Toyota #8, Porsche JOTA 963 #12, BMW M Hybrid V8 WRT #20 driven by Frijns, Alpine A424 #335 driven by Charles Milesi, Ferrari #50 driven by Fuoco, and Kubica in Ferrari #83.
In the final 12-minute session, Andlauer set the first competitive time of 2:03.314. Hartley followed with a time of 2:03.572, significantly slower than his previous lap.
However, Campbell soon surpassed them all, setting the fastest time of 2:03.107 at Spa.
In the end, it was Fuoco in the Ferrari who clinched pole position, beating the competition by over half a second with a time of 2:02.600.
With two minutes remaining, both Fuoco and Campbell decided to pit, believing they had extracted the maximum performance from their cars. Meanwhile, Milesi in the Alpine A424, currently in eighth place, stayed out on track in an attempt to improve his lap time. However, a small fire in the A424’s exhaust forced the session to end prematurely with a yellow flag, confirming Fuoco’s pole position.
Campbell finished in second place, while Alex Lynn secured third place in Cadillac #2, just eight thousandths of a second behind the Porsche driver.
The full results will be published soon.
The race will start on Saturday, May 11th, at 1:00 PM local time.
