Kuba Giermaziak from Poland clinched his first pole position of the season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. At the wheel of VERVA Racing team’s 460 hp new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which is based on the seventh generation of the 911, he was 0.203 seconds faster in qualifying for the sixth round of the season of this attractive brand trophy series as the British points leader Sean Edwards (Team Allyouneed by Project 1). Kuba Giermaziak won the race in Spa-Francorchamps in 2011.
Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler put in a strong drive on the challenging Grand Prix circuit in the Ardennes: Posting his best qualifying time in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, the FÖRCH Racing pilot from Austria set the third quickest time and takes up the race on Sunday from the second grid row. The rookie relegated Jeroen Bleekemolen (Lechner Racing), the two-time Supercup champion from the Netherlands, to fourth place.
The second Porsche Junior in the field, Michael Christensen, also secured a good starting position for the race. Driving for the DAMS squad, the Dane, who celebrated his maiden Supercup victory at Nürburgring and holds a clear lead in the rookie classification, qualified behind Germany’s Michael Ammermüller (Lechner Racing) on the sixth grid spot. Position seven is occupied by Poland’s Robert Lukas (FÖRCH Racing) ahead of Supercup newcomer Richie Stanaway from New Zealand driving for the DAMS team. Nicki Thiim (Denmark) had to settle for ninth place. Last year in Spa-Francorchamps, the Attempto Racing pilot notched up his first Supercup victory from pole position. Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay (MRS GT-Racing), who receives support from Porsche this season in his Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign as the winner of the International Cup Scholarship, posted the 16th quickest time.
Kuba Giermaziak (pole-sitter): “This time we didn’t save our second set of tyres like last time at the Hungaroring. That was the right decision, because Sean was in top form again. I’m really pleased about my first pole position of the season. It was a tough fight which showed that we are fast enough to match the pace of the front-runners.”
Sean Edwards (2nd qualifier): “That was a tough qualifying. I topped the time sheets twice, but Kuba had an answer immediately. In the last sector I was not quick enough but I’m still feeling confident for the race. Today I took Eau Rouge at full speed for the first time in a Cup car – that was awesome.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche Junior, 3rd qualifier): “That was incredible. I always knew that we had a fast car, but today I finally pulled it all together in all sectors. What a great day. It’s terrific to start from so far up the field. I hope I can turn this qualifying result into a good race result.”
Michael Christensen (Porsche Junior, 6th qualifier): “I was running third quickest on my first set of tyres. It’s a shame that I lost three positions on the second set. The car was good, but I made a couple of mistakes and that prevented me from setting a better time.”
Jean-Karl Vernay (Winner International Cup Scholarship, 16th qualifier): “In free practice we had a problem with the car so I was only able to really get a good stint during qualifying. It will be difficult to make up places from so far back, but I will certainly give it my best shot.”
The race on Sunday is broadcast live by TV channels Eurosport (11.45 hrs) and Sky (11.40 hrs). Eurosport shows highlights of the race on Sunday at midnight in the programme “Motorsport Weekend Magazin”.
