Fuoco Fastest in Truncated Nürburgring Pre-Qualifying

Antonio Fuoco went quickest for AF Corse in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup Pre-Qualifying at the Nürburgring, which was red-flagged and shortened due to track repairs.

The Italian steered the No. 50 Ferrari 296 GT3 to a best lap of 1:54.959, outpacing Augusto Farfus’ No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO by 0.149 seconds.

Fuoco’s time also compared favourably to the 1:55.249 that Tim Heinemann posted to top Free Practice earlier on Saturday.

Lucas Auer was third in the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, followed by the Bronze Cup-leading No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in the hands of Dennis Marshall.

The Pre-Qualifying session, which wraps up Saturday running, was scheduled to run for 60 minutes but was brought to a premature conclusion as a damaged curb at Turn 16 required repairs.

This led to a red flag after just 22 minutes of running had been completed, with race control later confirming that the session would not be resumed.

Al Faisal Al Zubair ended the session in fifth and quickest in Gold Cup aboard the No. 777 Al Manar Racing by WRT BMW, ahead of the No. 22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R piloted by Laurin Heinrich.

Luca Stolz slotted into seventh in the No. 17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed entry, with Thomas Preining eighth behind the wheel of the No. 911 Pure Rxcing Porsche.

Kobe Pauwels and Eddie Cheever III completed the top ten, leading Silver and Bronze Cup in the No. 21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and No. 93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Ferrari, respectively.

Qualifying for the three-hour race at the Nürburgring is scheduled for Sunday at 9 a.m. CEST (3 a.m. EST).

RESULTS: Pre-Qualifying