LM GTE qualifying: Müller and Long quickest!

The first 20-minute qualifying session for the Imola 6 Hours began at  14h00 with 14 LM GTE Pros and 8 GTE Ams taking part. The no. 55 BMW M3 n°55 and the no. 63 Porsche 911 RSR n°63 set the quickest times in their respective categories .

Frédéric Makowiecki ( no. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari F458 Italia) was the first to set a benchmark time in LM GTE Pro before being beaten by Jörg Müller (no. 55 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 n°55).  The second Bavarian car of Dirk Werner (no. 56 BMW Motorsport BMW M3) quickly jumped up to third.

Local hero, Giancarlo Fisichella (no. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia) did not manage to match these times and took fifth while BMW Motorsport continued to improve. The former F1 driver finished in seventh place.

The final flying laps did not modify the hierarchy and Jörg Müller held on to the fastest time in the session from his team-mate, Dirk Werner. The order behind the two BMW M3s was  Jaime Melo (no. 71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia ), Frédéric Makowiecki (no. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari F458 Italia) and  Rob Bell (no. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia) . The 3 Ferraris were separated by less than 3/10s!

En LM GTE Am, Porsche dominated the session from the start with Nicolas Armindo (no. 67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR), then Patrick Long (no. 63 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR). The American improved his time without being challenged by his rivals and finished in the middle of the LM GTE Pros. Italian Marco Cioci (no. 61 AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT) set the second-best time in front of Michele Rugolo (no. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F430 GT).