As in 2025, there will be an Aston Martin Vantage at the front of the LMGT3 class grid for Sunday’s 6 Hours of São Paulo, courtesy of a stunning Hyperpole performance by ‘super-sub’ Kobe Pauwels at Interlagos today (11 July).
The rising Belgian star had already impressed behind the wheel of Heart of Racing Team’s #23 entry in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship curtain-raising contest at Imola back in April, and after rookie Bronze-rated driver Gray Newell produced an excellent display to comfortably propel the car into the Hyperpole top ten shootout in Brazil, Pauwels would prove unbeatable.
In only his second FIA WEC appearance, the former rallycross racer posted not just one but two laps good enough to grab the prime starting spot in the fiercely-contested, production-based category, duly securing British brand Aston Martin’s 72nd pole position across all divisions – a new series record.
“Our pace was pretty strong when we did our qualifying simulation in FP2, so we knew if we got through to Hyperpole, we would be competitive,” reflected 21-year-old Pauwels, who like team-mates Newell and Jonny Adam, had never driven at Interlagos prior to yesterday’s free practice sessions. “But to be this competitive and on pole by almost two tenths-of-a-second, I didn’t expect that.
“The team gave me such a mega car that was an absolute pleasure to drive, as well as a clear indication of when the tyres would be at their peak. I knew they would be at their best on my second ‘push’ lap, and I nailed every corner – each one felt like perfection. Obviously there’s still a long race to go tomorrow, but I’m super-happy with this outcome for my first time in Hyperpole.”
Pauwels’ stellar effort represented the fastest-ever lap in the class around the legendary Autódromo José Carlos Pace, and Aston Martin’s first consecutive pole positions since Le Mans and São Paulo last year – the sixth for the iconic marque in LMGT3.
On what has been a strong weekend for Iron Lynx, fellow young gun Lin Hodenius put the #79 Mercedes-AMG entry second on the grid – 0.199 seconds adrift of the benchmark time – with Clemens Schmid winding up third in last season’s Interlagos-winning #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.
Team WRT’s Parker Thompson in fourth and Ben Tuck for Proton Competition in fifth both ended up within a hundredth-of-a-second of the Austrian, with Rui Andrade in the #61 Mercedes rounding out the top six.
Further down the order, Ben Keating placed 12th in the championship-leading #33 TF Sport Corvette, while neither of the VISTA AF Corse Ferraris nor Garage 59 McLarens progressed beyond the opening part of the session, in company with the #78 Lexus, runner-up at Le Mans last month.
Check out the full Qualifying and Hyperpole results.
The Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo will get underway at 11:30 local time (GMT-3) on Sunday, 12 July.
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