WRT Takes Double Pole at Zolder

Photo: Olivier Beroud Images

UPDATE: Robin Frijns later lost his pole position for Race 2 due to a penalty for causing a red-flag period. Mirko Bortolotti has been promoted to pole for Sunday’s race. Click here for more.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has taken pole for both of this weekend’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup races at Zolder with separate cars going quickest in the two qualifying sessions on Saturday morning.

Dries Vanthoor secured Race 1 pole in his No. 2 Audi R8 LMS GT3 in the opening session while Robin Frijns put the No. 17 Audi on top in Qualifying 2.

Grasser Racing Team will start from second in both races with its No. 63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 which was qualified by Christian Engelhart for Race 1 and Mirko Bortolotti for Race 2. 

While Vanthoor took pole for the first race, his co-driver Will Stevens placed third in his session. Frijns’ teammate Stuart Leonard will start ninth in Race 1.

Frijns’ best time of 1:28.363 is over six-tenths quicker than his pole-sitting time from last year’s race.

Eighteen-year-old Gilles Magnus put his WRT Audi fourth for Race 1 on his series debut, securing the Silver Cup class pole, while co-driver Alessio Picariello repeated the feat ahead of Sunday’s race. 

Piti Bhirombhakdi and Carlo van Dam managed to put the TP 12 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 at the top of the Pro-Am field for both races, meanwhile.

Qualifying 2 had two red-flag interruptions, both to collect cones at the second chicane.

Felix Serralles spun his AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 as the first red flag came out but appeared to sustain minimal damage after a light hit with the tire wall.

Race 1 will get underway at 3:25 p.m. local time ahead of Race 2 at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Both will be streamed live on the series’ website and GT World YouTube channel.

RESULTS: Qualifying 1
RESULTS: Qualifying 2

Jake Kilshaw

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