Parente Leads McLaren 1-2 in Nürburgring Qualifying

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Alvaro Parente went quickest in qualifying for the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup at the Nürburgring, putting his and Rob Bell’s No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren 650S GT3 on pole for Saturday afternoon’s Qualifying Race.

The Portuguese driver set a best time of 1:26.218 during the third and final session, but he had already topped the second session with a slightly slower time.

Just 0.096 seconds behind was the sister Garage 59 McLaren, contended by Come Ledogar. This locks out the front row for the pair of McLarens.

“When we put a new set of Pirelli tires on, the car immediately felt very well balanced,” said Parente.

“In Free Practice we knew we had the speed, but it isn’t until you try the new rubbers that you are absolutely certain to be on the pace.”

The best of the rest was Christopher Mies’ No. 33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT-run Audi R8 LMS, which will start in third and alongside the No. 84 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of HTP Motorsport.

Several other Audis completed the top-ten, along with the No. 63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in ninth position.

Dries Vanthoor and Nico Mueller will start from 12th on the grid, after leading the way in Free Practice and the first Qualifying session in their No. 4 WRT Audi.

Michal Broniszewski and Giacomo Piccini were fastest out of the Pro-Am runners, with the No. 11 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 which will start 16th overall.

Grasser Racing Team headed the Silver Cup field with the No. 19 Lamborghini of Michele Beretta and Luca Stolz, starting 18th, while Claudio Sdanewitsch and Stephane Lemeret will lead the Am field from class pole in the No. 55 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT3.

The 60-minute Qualifying Race will start at 2:30 p.m. local time, and will set the grid for Sunday’s Main Race.

Jake Kilshaw

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