Qualifying at Monza saw the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup field split into two groups, with the Bronze and Silver Cup entries running in Group A and the Gold and Pro cars heading out in Group B.
#64 HRT Ford Performance Ford of Thomas Drouet, Arjun Maini and Fabio Scherer claiming overall pole, with Ben Dörr fastest in Q3 and the #3 Mercedes-AMG taking a five-place grid penalty. With both groups producing tight margins across the order, the session quickly turned into a close fight for track position and clean laps around the Temple of Speed.
The split format also shaped the overall picture, as the Bronze and Silver runners laid down the first reference times before the Gold and Pro contenders completed the qualifying order.
What has happened already
The GTWC Europe weekend at Monza had already produced two busy and unpredictable practice sessions before Qualifying got underway. FP1 featured red flags, Full Course Yellow periods and several gravel-trap incidents, before Jules Gounon put the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car fastest late on.
FP2 then produced a surprise result, with Ben Dörr topping the session for Team RJN in the #23 McLaren ahead of Dennis Lind’s #24 Steller Motorsport Corvette. With the order mixed and the margins extremely tight, Qualifying was set to give the clearest picture yet of the true pace at Monza.
Maini tops Q1 at Monza as HRT Ford shows strong early pace
With the first group on track, the Bronze Cup and Silver Cup cars began heating their tyres before setting the opening fastest laps of the day. The group had 10 minutes to complete its part of the 20-minute Q1 session. Riccardo Pera set the early benchmark in the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche with a 1:46.408, with Kobe Pauwels following closely in the #4 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin.
However, Finn Wiebelhaus then went almost half a second quicker in the #65 HRT Ford Performance Ford to move onto provisional pole. Marvin Dienst followed behind in the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. With around one minute remaining in Q1A at Monza, Wiebelhaus remained unbeaten at the top of the order.
As Q1B got underway, the Gold Cup and Pro Cup drivers headed out on track to set their first flying laps of the day. However, the average lap times would ultimately decide the final order at the end of GTWC Europe Qualifying at Monza. Once the first times came in, Finn Wiebelhaus remained at the top of the standings. The first Pro Cup cars closed in on his benchmark but could not beat it.
Lucas Auer then moved ahead in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER entry, putting his Mercedes-AMG just 0.026s clear of Wiebelhaus. He became the first driver to go faster than the #65 HRT Ford Performance Ford. However, Arjun Maini soon responded in Wiebelhaus’ sister car, snatching the top spot by two tenths over Auer. Maini ended Q1 as the fastest driver, followed by Dylan Pereira and Daniel Juncadella.
Lulham tops Q2 as HRT Ford takes provisional pole on average lap time at GTWC Europe weekend in Monza
As Q2 got underway, the first group headed out on track, with the Bronze Cup and Silver Cup cars opening the session once again as they looked to put their entries at the top. Guilherme Oliveira set the first benchmark with a 1:46.419. However, Eduardo Coseteng soon went quicker in the #65 HRT Ford Performance Ford, setting the fastest lap of the day so far with a 1:45.990.
Gabriele Piana followed closely in the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, with the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari also near the front. As Q2A came to a close, Patrese topped the timesheets. However, the #65 HRT Ford Performance Ford still held provisional pole overall with the best average lap time, a 1:45.873.
With around 10 minutes left on the clock, Group B got underway as the Gold Cup and Pro Cup cars returned to the track to improve on their Q1 times. Andrea Frassineti went fastest early on in the #99 Audi, followed by Max Hesse in the #46 BMW M Team WRT entry. Lorenzo Patrese sat third in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
However, Fabio Scherer soon showed the pace of the #64 HRT Ford Performance Ford around Monza once again, moving to the top of the timesheets. Chris Lulham then went even quicker in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car, setting a lap 0.151s faster than the Ford. Although Lulham held the fastest lap, the #64 HRT Ford Performance Ford remained on provisional pole overall with the best average lap time, a 1:45.485.
Dörr tops Q3 as #64 HRT Ford secures overall pole at Monza
With the final GTWC Europe Qualifying session at Monza underway, Group A headed back out on track in search of faster laps to improve their average times ahead of the race. The session quickly brought some drama, with the #52 Ferrari running off track while a McLaren limped around the circuit.
Meanwhile, Dörr moved up to second in the session behind the wheel of the #23 McLaren. However, Maxime Oosten soon put the #65 HRT Ford Performance Ford back at the top, setting the fastest lap of the session so far. His effort improved the car’s average time and moved the #65 entry onto provisional pole overall, as well as provisional pole in the Silver Cup. Dörr then found even more pace in the McLaren, going 0.328s quicker than the #65 Ford. The lap lifted him to fourth overall on average lap time.
With the final 10 minutes of GTWC Europe Qualifying at Monza underway, Group B headed back out to set the deciding laps for the grid. As the Gold Cup and Pro Cup cars returned to the track, no one could beat Dörr’s benchmark. Thomas Drouet came closest in the #64 HRT Ford Performance Ford, finishing 0.217s behind the McLaren driver.
Although Drouet could not beat the fastest lap, his effort improved the #64 Ford’s average time and strengthened its hold on provisional pole. Meanwhile, Gounon only managed P6 in Q3, but the #3 Mercedes-AMG car still held P2 in the combined qualifying results. However, the team will take a five-place grid penalty for the 3-hour race.
At the end of the session, Dörr remained the fastest driver around Monza, while the #64 HRT Ford Performance Ford of Drouet, Maini and Scherer claimed overall pole for the GTWC Europe race, the first one for Ford in the series.
