Jamin Snatches First LMP2 Pole for Duqueine

Duqueine Engineering’s Nico Jamin came through right at the end of a dramatic LMP2 qualifying session to snatch pole for Sunday’s 4 Hours of Portimao.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, driving the No. 29 Oreca 07 Gibson, produced a time of 1:33.197 on his final flyer to pip Will Stevens in the No. 23 Panis-Barthez Competition Ligier JS P217 Gibson by 0.060 seconds.

Stevens thought he had secured the Panis-Barthez squad’s second European Le Mans Series pole of the year when he clocked a time of 1:33.257 just after the checkered flag, but it was Jamin who had the final say.

The outcome marked Duqueine’s first-ever LMP2 pole and the first ELMS pole for Indy Lights race winner Jamin.

Filipe Albuquerque settled for third after initially heading into the final half-minute of qualifying on top in the No. 22 United Autosports Ligier, and will start his home race from third next to the IDEC Sport Oreca qualified by Paul-Loup Chatin.

They will line up ahead of the G-Drive Racing and DragonSpeed Orecas which occupy row three, ahead of the sister United Ligier and the best-placed Dallara P217 Gibson of AVF by Adrian Valles.

In LMP3, Swiss racer Lucas Legeret gave the M. Racing YMR squad its second pole of the season with a 1:41.715 effort.

Legeret, who shares the No. 19 Norma M30 Nissan with David Droux and FIA World Endurance Championship driver Romano Ricci, pipped Matthieu Lahaye in the Ultimate-run Norma by 0.061 seconds.

BMW junior Mikkel Jensen prevented Norma teams from filling out the top three places with the third-best time in the AT Racing Ligier JSP3 Nissan, ahead of DKR Engineering’s Marvin Klein.

LMGTE pole position went to Miguel Molina, who shot to the top of the timing sheets with his final lap of the session.

The Ferrari factory driver posted a time 0f 1:42.765 in the No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE to displace Dennis Olsen in the first of two Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSRs by three tenths.

The 4 Hours of Portimao gets underway on Oct. 28 at 12:30 p.m local time.