The pole positions for the LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am classes were both claimed by an Aston Martin but in both cases by the slimmest of margins.
Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner posted an average time of the fastest four qualifying laps of 2m04.370 in the no97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8, just 0.019s ahead of their teammates Bruno Senna and Richie Stanaway in the nr99 Vantage. Porsche edged out Ferrari with the nr92 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 of Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Pilet heading row 2, 0.006s ahead of the nr71 AF Corse Ferrari of Kamui Kobayashi and Toni Vilander. It was a repeat performance for the third row with the nr92 Porsche of Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz finishing ahead of the nr51 Ferrari 458 of Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Darren Turner, No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8: “Now it’s getting to the sharp end of the season we need to get some points. So, it’s great to start the race from the front of the grid tomorrow. The boys who have worked so hard on the car all year deserve this and it’s really valuable to get the extra point, which can make all the difference when fighting for such a close-run championship.”
In LMGTE Am Christoffer Nygaard and Nicki Thiim posted the fastest 4-lap average of 2m05.903 in the nr95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage, just 0.015s ahead of the nr61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Marco Cioci and Matt Griffin. It was another Ferrari at the head of row 2 with the nr81 8 Star Motorsports 458 of Davide Rigon and Rui Aguas finishing 0.2 seconds behind the pole sitting Aston and 0.25 ahead of the nr88 Proton Competition Porsche of Paolo Ruberti and Gianluca Roda. The other four cars in the class were covered by 0.9 seconds with the nr76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche ahead of the nr96 Aston Martin, the nr57 Krohn Racing Ferrari and the nr50 Larbre Competition Chervolet Corvette.
Christoffer Nygaard, No.95 Aston Martin Vantage V8: "That was a great qualifying session. The car felt great and it’s good to be starting the race from the front of the grid. We just need to convert this pole position into a win tomorrow.”
The 6 Hours of Shanghai will take place tomorrow morning at 11am (local)
CLICK HERE for the result from qualifying
