Foster Takes HubAuto Ferrari to Suzuka 10H Pole

Photo: Dirk Bogarts/SRO

Nick Foster has claimed overall pole for Sunday’s Suzuka 10 Hours, in a dominant run for HubAuto in a delayed Pole Shootout.

The Australian reeled off a 2:01.740 early in the 15-minute session to give the Taiwanese team top qualifying honors for the third round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Foster shares the Pro-Am class Ferrari 488 GT3 with fellow Silver-rated driver David Perel and Bronze-rated Hiroki Yoshida.

A late flyer by Raffaele Marciello put the No. 888 GruppeM Mercedes-AMG GT3 second on the grid, denying a front-row sweep by the Taiwanese squad. 

The Mercedes-AMG factory driver recorded a 2:02.037, which was less than a half-tenth quicker than the No. 27 HubAuto entry, qualified by Davide Rigon, who dropped to third in the late stages.

Marciello, who was the highest-placed IGTC entrant, was one of four cars added to the Pole Shootout after multiple errors were discovered in track limits-related penalties in Q1-Q3.

The session, which was delayed by more than an hour as officials reviewed all lap times, was due to feature 20 cars.

Luca Stolz qualified the No. 175 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes in fourth overall and second quickest in Pro-Am, with Oliver Jarvis completing the top-five in the No. 23 KCMG Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

A spin for the No. 34 Modulo Drago Corse Honda NSX GT3 Takashi Kogure, who beached his car in the gravel, resulted in the shootout being red-flagged with less than two minutes on the clock.

The session did not restart.

The Suzuka 10 Hours gets underway Sunday at 10 a.m. local time.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John