No. 4 Graff Norma Inherits Pole After Sister Car Penalized

The No. 4 Graff Norma M30 Nissan has inherited pole position for tomorrow’s Gulf 12 Hours after the team’s No. 39 car was penalized post-qualifying.

James Winslow, Neale Muston and Jake Parsons were promoted to the front of the grid after it was found that Kang Ling had set the other Norma’s best lap under yellow flag conditions.

With Ling’s second-quickest time applied, the No. 39 Graff car was dropped to fourth on the 33-car grid while the No. 11 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 was bumped up to the first row.

The Ferrari, which is leading Kessel’s bid to defend its Gulf 12 Hours crown, will be driven tomorrow by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Michael Broniszewski.

Ling, Eric Trouillet and Thibaud Mourgues, who will share the No. 39 Norma with Sergio Pasian, initially pipped the No. 4 car to the fastest three-driver qualifying average by 0.174 seconds.

Third on the grid will be the No. 5 McLaren 720S GT3 that is set to make its first-ever race appearance at Yas Marina this weekend.

The new-generation Aston Martin Vantage GT3s entered by Oman Racing by TF Sport and R-Motorsport will start on row three behind the McLaren and the demoted Norma.

Scuderia Villorba Corsa’s No. 7 Ligier JS P3 Nissan will start seventh, next to the GT3 Pro-Am pole-sitting No. 27 Daiko Lazarus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

The eighth edition of the Gulf 12 Hours, which is split into two parts, takes place on Saturday 9:30 a.m local time (12:30 a.m ET).

RESULTS: Starting Grid