Aston Martin Sweeps GTE Qualifying at Silverstone

Photo: John Dagys

Aston Martin Racing swept qualifying honors in both GTE classes, including a 1-2-3 lockout in GTE-Pro for Sunday’s FIA World Endurance Championship season-opening Six Hours of Silverstone.

The No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen combined for a two-lap best average of 1:59.970, which has put the all-Danish lineup entry on the GTE-Pro pole in its class debut.

Their time was 0.205 seconds quicker than the Richie Stanaway and Fernando Rees-qualified No. 99 Aston Martin, with the No. 97 entry of Darren Turner and Stefan Muecke recording the third quickest time in the 20-minute session.

Pole-sitters Thiim and Sorensen will share driving duties with Christoffer Nygaard on Sunday.

The No. 91 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR of Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen was the best of the rest in GTE-Pro, with the duo recording a 2:00.651 average.

Defending class champions Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander completed the top-five in class in their No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT, although more than seven-tenths slower than the pace-setting Aston.

Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana, meanwhile, took their No. 98 Aston Martin to the pole in GTE-Am, completing a near perfect day for the British manufacturer.

The pairing combined for a 2:01.998 average, outpacing the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette C7.R of Paolo Ruberti and Kristian Poulsen by nearly one second.

It marked Dalla Lana’s first pole in his FIA WEC qualifying debut, thanks to a new rule for the LMP2 and GTE-Am class mandating the team’s Bronze or Silver-rated driver be one of the two nominated qualifying drivers.

Dalla Lana and Lamy will be joined by Mathias Lauda in the No. 98 Aston on Sunday.

The FIA WEC Six Hours of Silverstone gets underway Sunday at 12 p.m. local, with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 7 a.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying (GTE-Pro/GTE-Am)

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