Jota Sport Secures Fourth Pole of Season at Estoril

Jota Sport will start from pole position in the fifth and final round of the European Le Mans Series at Estoril. Harry Tincknell was the fastest man on track, clinching Jota Sport’s fourth pole position of the season.

Tincknell, driving the No. 38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan, lapped the 2.6 mile Portuguese circuit in a time of 1:29.497, beating nearest rival Tristan Gommendy in the TDS by Thiriet Racing Ligier JS P2 by 0.713s.

By scoring the point for pole position Jota Sport closed the gap to current championship leaders Signatech Alpine to 9 points. Nelson Panciatici in the No. 36 Signatech Alpine managed to qualify in third place (+1.311s).

A win for Jota Sport later today could result in the British team taking the 2014 ELMS title, but only when Signatech Alpine finishes third or lower.

Outsiders Newblood by Morand Racing qualified in fifth with their Morgan-Judd, behind the No. 48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan.

Frank Mailleux brought out a red flag six minutes and 40 seconds before the end of the session, after spinning his Race Performance Oreca-Judd into the gravel. He eventually qualified in eighth place.

Stuart Hall claimed pole position in the GTE class in the No. 85 Gulf Racing UK Aston Martin Vantage.

The British driver, who turned 30 on Saturday, kept the No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Daniel Zampieri at bay. Championship leaders Matt Griffin and Duncan Cameron will start the race from third.

The GTC championship leaders didn’t play a role in qualifying. Like at Paul Ricard SMP Racing’s Luca Persiani secured pole position, 0.091s ahead of Kevin Korjus in the No. 98 ART Grand Prix McLaren MP4-12C GT3.

Anton Ladygin, David Markozov and Olivier Beretta, who have an 18.5-point lead in the championship, will start eighth.

RESULTS: Qualifying