Torsten Kratz claimed his third pole of the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup season with three fast laps towards the end of the 15-minute session that was interrupted by a red flag after five minutes of running.
The early pace setter was the no76 Reiter Engineering Ligier, with Freddie Hunt looking for his third pole in a row.The British driver had set a 1m39.321 lap and was two tenths ahead of the 31-car field when the no4 DKR Engineering Duqueine slowed and stopped at T5, bring out the red flag.
When the session resumed with just under 10-minutes remaining the no29 MV2S Forestier Racing Ligier of Jerome de Sadeleer went quickest with a 1m38.812, but only for a short period before the no11 WTM Duqueine posted a 1m38.591 lap, with Torsten Kratz improving that on the next lap by two tenths and then going even quicker on his next lap with a session best of 1m38.294.
Freddie Hunt made a bid for a front row start in tomorrow morning’s race but was pushed down to Row 2 right at the end of the session when 2022 MLMC Champion Alexander Mattschull posted a 1m38.497 just before the chequered flag, two tenths behind Kratz and two tenths ahead of Hunt.
Poulsen Claims Second GT3 Pole of Season
Championship leader Kristian Poulsen took his second pole of the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup, extending his and Kasper Jensen’s Points lead to 18 points in the no55 GMB Motorsport Honda NSX.
The no8 Schnitzelalm Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 of PJ Hyett made an early bid for pole with a 1m44.649 but was pushed down to second with a few minutes when Kristian Poulsen lapped in 1m44.565, 0.084s ahead of the American.
The session was red flagged after 10 minutes of running when the no99 Bullitt Racing Aston Martin Vantage went off the track at T11, with Stephen Pattrick managing to keep his car from hitting the barriers.
When the session resumed the no55 Honda and no8 Mercedes didn’t rejoin the track.The no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Kozumi Hiroshi was on a quick lap, finishing up in third spot with a 1m44.731, just ahead of the no44 GMB Motorsport Honda of Jens Moller at the chequered flag.
The final race of the 2022 season will take place at 09h00 (local) on Sunday 16 October.
CLICK HERE for the result from Qualifying
