Eurointernational, Graff Take Road to Le Mans Poles

Photo: Olivier Beroud Images

Eurointernational and Graff have each picked up a pole position for the pair of Road to Le Mans races with Mikkel Jensen on pole for this afternoon’s first race.

Eurointernational’s Jensen posted a best time of 3:51.315 in his No. 11 Ligier JS P3 Nissan to put himself and Kay van Berlo into first on the grid for Race 1.

Times were slower in the second session with an eventual best of 3:54.192 from Eric Trouillet in the No. 39 Graff-run Norma M30 Nissan he co-drives with Adrien Trouillet.

Both of the 20-minute runs had red-flag interruptions while slow zones also prevented drivers from posted representative lap times for most of Q2. 

Cool Racing’s Scott Andrews qualified second for today’s race with a time just 0.110 seconds from the pole, while James Littlejohn was seven-tenths back in the best of the Ecurie Ecosse/Nielsen contingent. 

Matt Bell completed the top four for United Autosports ahead of DKR Engineering’s James Winslow. 

Anthony Pons missed the Race 2 pole by 0.696 seconds in the No. 30 CD Sport, setting an all-Norma front row for the Saturday round.

Van Berlo will start third in the Race 1 pole sitting Eurointernational entry ahead of Jens Petersen in the No. 4 DKR car and United Autosports’ John Falb.

AF Corse and Kessel Racing will share the poles in the eight-car GT3 field, meanwhile.

Marco Cioci will lead the class in Race 1 after posting a time of 3:55.867 in the No. 71 Ferrari 488 GT3, ahead of Spirit of Race’s Frederic Vervisch.

Kessel driver Sergio Pianezzola is on Race 2 pole in GT3 with a best lap of 4:01.382 in the No.8 Ferrari, while the Race 1 pole sitters will start second. 

Red flags ended both sessions early with cars having to be retrieved while there was an early stoppage in Q1 when Nic Jonsson lost a wheel from his M. Racing – YMR car.

Race 1 is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. local time and will last for 55 minutes.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.