In LM P1, Neel Jani waited till the dying minutes of qualifying to go quickest with a time of 1m 30.118s in the no. 12 Lola–Toyota just in front of Julien Jousse in the Pescarolo-Judd whose best was 1m 30.317s. Thus Rebellion Racing will start the Estoril 6 Hours on pole. The duel between the Swiss team and Pescarolo Racing for the LM P1 title promises to be the highlight of the race.
Pole was even more hotly contested in LM P2. Mathias Beche in the TDS Racing Oreca 03-Nissan was the first to set a benchmark time in 1m 32.347s, but not for long as Danny Watts wheeled the Strakka Racing HPD ARX-01d round in 1m 32.344, which he immediately improved to 1m 32.072. But it was Tom Kimber-Smith in the Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN-Nissan who came out on top with a lap in 1m 31.800s. Thanks to the point awarded for pole the British team has won the LM P2 title even before the start of the Estoril 6 Hours!
In Formula Le Mans, Alex Kapadia in the Neil Garner Motorsport FLM 09 went to the front immediately, was never headed and set pole in 1m 36.044s.
The start of the Estoril 6 Hours will be given at 13h00 on Sunday 25th September.
Ferrari on pole in GTE Pro and Porsche quickest in GTE Am
The Ferrari-Porsche duel again fulfilled its promise in qualifying for the Estoril 6 Hours. Nicolas Armindo in the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 quickly set pole in LM GTE Am, while in LM GTE Pro the battle for first place was more hotly disputed.
In LM GTE Am, Nicolas Armindo set a target time with a lap in 1m 40.014. The best Marco Cioci in the AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT could do was 1m 40.558s, so the Frenchman added another pole to his tally this season.
Marco Holzer in the Prospeed Competition Porsche set the pace early on in LM GTE Pro along with Richard Leitz in the Felbermayr-Proton team’s 997. With a lap in 1m 39.374s the Austrian held pole for most of the session – until the Ferrari 458 Italias woke up!
Rob Bell got close to Lietz’s time with a lap in 1m 39.469s and then beat it with a flyer in 1m 39.176s. Joining him on the front row will be Gianmaria Bruni who hustled his AF Corse 458 Italia round the Estoril circuit in 1m 39.356s.
| Pos | # | Team | Driver | Car | Cat | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Rebellion Racing | N. Jani / N. Prost | Lola B10/60 Coupé - Toyota | LM P1 | 1:30.118 | |
| 2 | 16 | Pescarolo Team | E. Collard / C. Tinseau / J. Jousse | Pescarolo - Judd | LM P1 | 1:30.317 | +0.199 |
| 3 | 13 | Rebellion Racing | A. Belicchi / J. Boullion | Lola B10/60 Coupé - Toyota | LM P1 | 1:30.592 | +0.474 |
| 4 | 41 | Greaves Motorsport | K. Ojjeh / O. Lombard / T. Kimber-Smith | Zytek Z11SN - Nissan | LM P2 | 1:31.800 | +1.682 |
| 5 | 42 | Strakka Racing | N. Leventis / D. Watts / J. Kane | HPD ARX - 01d | LM P2 | 1:32.072 | +1.954 |
| 6 | 46 | TDS Racing | M. Beche / P. Thiriet / J. Firth | Oreca 03 - Nissan | LM P2 | 1:32.347 | +2.229 |
| 7 | 45 | Boutsen Energy Racing | D. Kraihamer / T. Ebbesvik | Oreca 03 - Nissan | LM P2 | 1:32.695 | +2.257 |
| 8 | 40 | Race Performance | M. Frey / R. Meichtry / J. Hirschi | Oreca 03 - Judd | LM P2 | 1:33.286 | +3.168 |
| 9 | 39 | Pecom Racing | L. Perez Companc / M. Russo / P. Kaffer | Lola B11/40 - Judd | LM P2 | 1:33.525 | +3.407 |
| 10 | 43 | RLR Msport | B. Gates / R. Garofall / W. Hughes | MG Lola EX265 - Judd | LM P2 | 1:34.066 | +3.948 |
| 11 | 44 | Extreme Limite AM Paris | F. Rosier / M. Mello-Breyner / P. Mello-Breyner | Norma M200P - Judd | LM P2 | 1:34.168 | +4.050 |
| 12 | 92 | Neil Garner Motorsport | J. Hartshorne / T. Graves / A. Kapadia | Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 | FLM | 1:36.044 | +5.926 |
| 13 | 99 | JMB Racing | P. Kutemann / N. Marroc | Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 | FLM | 1:36.480 | +6.362 |
| 14 | 95 | Pegasus Racing | M. Schultis / P. Simon / J. Schell | Formula Le Mans - Oreca - 09 | FLM | 1:37.474 | +7.356 |
| 15 | 66 | JMW Motorsport | R. Bell / J. Walker | Ferrari F458 Italia | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.176 | +9.058 |
| 16 | 51 | AF Corse | G. Fisichella / G. Bruni | Ferrari F458 Italia | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.233 | +9.115 |
| 17 | 77 | Team Felbermayr - Proton | M. Lieb / R. Lietz | Porsche 911 RSR (997) | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.374 | +9.256 |
| 18 | 75 | Prospeed Competition | M. Goossens / M. Holzer | Porsche 911 RSR (997) | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.526 | +9.408 |
| 19 | 89 | Hankook Team Farnbacher | D. Farnbacher / A. Simonsen | Ferrari F458 Italia | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.749 | +9.631 |
| 20 | 76 | IMSA Performance Matmut | P. Pilet / W. Henzler | Porsche 911 RSR (997) | LM GTE Pro | 1:39.964 | +9.846 |
| 21 | 67 | IMSA Performance Matmut | N. Armindo / R. Narac | Porsche 911 RSR (997) | LM GTE Am | 1:40.014 | +9.896 |
| 22 | 71 | AF Corse | J. Melo / T. Vilander | Ferrari F458 Italia | LM GTE Pro | 1:40.390 | +10.272 |
| 23 | 79 | Jota | S. Dolan / S. Hancock | Aston Martin Vantage | LM GTE Pro | 1:40.417 | +10.299 |
| 24 | 61 | AF Corse | P. Perazzini / M. Cioci / S. Lemeret | Ferrari F430 | LM GTE Am | 1:40.558 | +10.440 |
| 25 | 90 | JMB Racing | S. Ayari / M. Rodrigues / P. Ballay | Ferrari F458 Italia | LM GTE Pro | 1:40.746 | +10.628 |
| 26 | 82 | CRS Racing | K. Hummel / A. Christodoulou / P. Quaife | Ferrari F430 | LM GTE Am | 1:40.777 | +10.659 |
| 27 | 88 | Team Felbermayr - Proton | C. Ried / H. Felbermayr Jr. | Porsche 911 RSR (997) | LM GTE Am | 1:42.107 | +11.989 |