The LMP3 qualifying session took place in very wet conditions with the 18 strong field all taking care in the tricky conditions. R-ace GP made the most of the tricky conditions with the no86 Liger taking the top spot before the race was red flagged with less than 4 minutes left of the 15-minute session.
Hadrien David claimed pole with a 2m29.248 in the no85 Duqueine-Toyota with 6 minutes left on the clock. Teammate Pierre Edgar took second place with a 2m29.960, pushing the no70 Gebhardt Motorsport Duqueine of Oscar Tunjo into third place.
The session came to an end with less than four minutes on the clock when championship leader Alvisa Rodella spun at Raidillon, clipping the barrier on drivers left and coming to a halt in the middle of the track. Rodella was OK but the car suffered front end damage. With no time to restart the session, the grid was declared.
The no84 ANS Motorsport Ligier will start at the head of the LMP3 Pro/Am grid for the second time in 2025 with Julien Lemoine showing the rest of the field a clean pair of heals. The French driver finished the red flag interrupted session on 2m30.799, a massive 4.6 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, with Shahan Sarkissian in the no31 CD Sport Duqueine taking second place at the chequered flag with a 2m35.463.
The session was red flagged after 7 minutes when the no99 More Motorsport Ligier went off at T8 into the barriers. Max Van Der Snel was OK but the car had to be lifted into a safe position before the session could resume.
At the restart Lemoine continued to dominate putting in two quick times to underline his dominance of the LMP3 Pro/Am qualifying session in the very wet conditions.
The no88 R-ace GP Duqueine of Romao Ricci was third quickest, with the no77 Reiter Engineering Ligier and the championship leading no71 Rinaldi Racing Ligier in 4th and 5th respectively.
The first of the three sessions was slightly delayed due to barrier repairs following the earlier Ligier European Series session, with the eight GT3 cars heading out on Michelin wet tyres.The drivers took their time to get acclimatised to the tricky conditions and then the times started to fall.
Lorenzo Ferdinando Innocenti set the early pace in the no17 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, finishing the first flying lap ahead of the no83 Iron Dames Porsche driven by Vanina Ikyx and the no11 Code Racing Developments Aston Martin Vantage of Philipp Sager.
Sager went into provisional pole on the next lap with a 2m39.859 and then spun on the next lap at Raidillon but the Austrian was able to gather to car up and keep it out of the barriers.
Championship leader Alessandro Cozzi went to the top briefly in the no51 AF Corse Ferrari before the no17 Kessel Racing Ferrari went back to the top.Vanina Ickx also made a brief visit to the top spot just before the chequered flag, but Innocenti regained the pole with a 2m38.127 as he began his last flying lap.
The chequered flag came out and Alessandro Cozzi crossed the line in the no51 Ferrari in 2m37.392 to take the top spot but a few seconds later the no17 Ferrari bounced back to the top as Innocenti posted a 2m36.722 to take pole for this afternoon’s race.
The no83 Iron Dames Porsche will head Row 2 of the GT3 grid, with the no11 Code Racing Development Aston Martin starting alongside.
CLICK HERE for the result from qualifying.
Hadrien David – no85 R-ace GP Duqueine D09-Toyota – LMP3
“The session was not easy. We didn't drive in the wet before, it wasdiscoveryfor everyone. The setup as well, was a bit tricky last minute. But yeah, it was a good session overall. I had the clean up and I managed to put all the sectors together. I still think that there was more potential in it. But yeah, the team did a good job.
“It's our first one-two in quali. It's more points in the championship, so we are a bit closer to the lead, and hopefully we can convert our first pole into a first win this year. So, we are very happy.”
Julien Lemoine – no84 ANS Motorsport Ligier JS P325-Toyota – LMP3 Pro/Am
“Yes, that's a very good lap. I took a lot of pleasure in the car, and I felt in control of the situation, so that's the best situation to be.
“It’s tricky in the wet. You have always this stress before starting, knowing how this track is dangerous, the Raidillon in the wet is risky. You need to avoid at any cause of curves, because under the wet you have a risk to lose control, so you need to push, but not too much. So the limit is tricky to find, especially in the Raidillon, but that's always a pleasure when you are in control of the car and you feel the situation."
“Difficult to say how much the red flag upset the strategy. I was on a good lap when I had the red flag. But the first thing is, I hope nothing serious happens. The first thing you think about when there is a red flag is about the driver that trigger it, and hoping it's not serious before the lap. We are all drivers. We know it can happen to anyone, even the best ones. So that's the first feeling.”
Lorenzo Ferdinando Innocenti – no17 Kessel Racig Ferrari 296 GT3 – GT3
“Yeah, it was a difficult start to the weekend with the setup and with everything and with the rain. It's actually my first real quali in rain, and I don't have a lot of experience in the rain. So with everything that happened, I went out in the carvery focused, but immediately I felt like a good feeling with the car and with the track condition.
“And I pushed maybe a little bit too much from the beginning, but managed to understand where the track had grip and where it didn't have it. And I was in a really good track position, so I didn't have any lot of spray in front and any traffic behind.
“Solap after lap, I improved, and I saw where I could push more, and I pushed a little bit the limits of thecar, anddid what mydriver coachinstructed me and taughtmeand it worked out well. Iwas hearingon the radio thatihada good position. It was a pole before I was p1 and then the radio went silent. So, I was a bit worried that I had lost P1 but apparently I was first for the whole session.
“So, and I just kept really being very, very focused because the track was the rain was increasing in some points, then it was a little bit decreasing and it was quite tricky conditions, but the car was felt really, really good, and so I knew where I could push, and I didn't take risks, like on outside curbs, for example.”
