Porsche will start Saturday’s Motul Sepang 12 Hours from the overall pole, following a 1-3 qualifying run for the German manufacturer in the final round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Fred Makowiecki took the No. 912 Manthey Racing-run Porsche 911 GT3 R to the pole, thanks to a quick lap of 2:02.634 in Friday’s Top 15 Shootout.
The Frenchman edged out the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 of Alvaro Parente by 0.130 seconds.
Makowiecki will share driving duties in tomorrow’s race with Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen, with the sister Porsche to be driven by Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Earl Bamber, who qualified third.
Parente was the first to set a competitive time following an early session red flag for the stationary No. 50 Spirit of Race Ferrari, with the Pirelli World Challenge champion having laid down a 2:02.764 lap, but unable to improve on his two following laps.
Bamber’s 2:02.851 put the Kiwi third, followed by the No. 11 Singha Motorsports Team Ferrari 488 GT3, of Pro-Am class pole-sitter Carlo van Dam, in fourth overall.
The No. 88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan GT3, which topped the 60-minute qualifying session, completed the top-five in the Shootout with Manabu Orido at the wheel.
The big surprise was the lack of pace from the two factory backed Audis, with Laurens Vanthoor only able to muster sixth and Rene Rast 10th quickest after getting caught out during the red flag.
GTC pole honors went to Peter Kox in the No. 26 B-Quik Racing Audi R8 LMS Cup car, thanks to a 2:06.627 lap time that put the Dutchman 13th overall on the grid.
Other class pole-sitters included Dan Wells (GT4) in a Ginetta G55 GT4 and the No. 93 MARC Cars Australia Marc Mazda3 V8 (M), both cars making their Sepang debuts.
The Motul Sepang 12 Hours gets underway at 12 p.m. local time on Saturday.
RESULTS: Qualifying (Combined)
