Kessel’s Racing #74 dominated Qualifying 1 in Valencia, followed by the #89 Porsche and the #93 Ferrari, putting 3 Bronze contenders on top
Ferrari dominated the GT World Challenge finale build-up in Valencia, topping both Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying. Dennis Marschall led a one-two-three for the marque, showing the team’s strength early on. Mercedes-AMG pushed hard and closed the gap, keeping pressure on their rivals. Team WRT, meanwhile, struggled to find pace and fell behind the frontrunners. The tension grew as the field prepared for a decisive Qualifying session.
Ferrari on top of session one
Pro-Cup and Gold-Cup drivers went out first in this Qualifying session in Valencia. With 10 minutes on the clock, the drivers got ready to set the fastest lap around Valencia. Car #35 was the first of the 17 cars in this session to go out on track. And that after 3 minutes already went by. With almost half of the session over, more cars joined the Aston Martin #35 on track. Championship leader Charlie Weerts in the #32 BMW started his fastest lap, but track limits proved a challenge and officials deleted his time immediately. With just under 3 minutes remaining, only four timed laps stood on the board, with Arthur Leclerc leading the way.
As the time went on more cars set the fastest lap, with around a minute left the Ferraris #51 and #52 topped the sheets, followed by Luca Engstler in the #63 Lamborghini. Though 7 cars still needed to put a lap in. With Leclerc crossing track limits, his fastest time got deleted. At the end of Group A the #51 Ferrari was on top, followed by the #58 McLaren and the #48 Mercedes.
#74 goes for another fastest session in Valencia
The second quarter of the four Qualifying quarters in Valencia went underway for the Silver and Bronze Cup contenders. With seven minute left on the clock, only one of the 23 cars for this session started to set his fastest lap. The #74 Ferrari started his lap with 5 minute left on the clock, starting to set purple sectors as the Bronze Cup Championship leader set the car to the top of the charts. Followed by the #89 Porsche another Bronze Cup contender. As Jake Dennis in the #991 BMW climbed up to P8 overall, making him fourth in the Bronze Cup so far. With less than a minute to drive before the next quarter starts, the cars try to set one more fast lap before the end of this session.
Kessel Racing dominates Qualifying 1 in Valencia
After both sessions completed, Kessel Racing’s #74 Ferrari topped the sheets again after being fastest in both Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying. Followed by the #89 Porsche and the #93 Ferrari, putting 3 Bronze Cup cars in the first three spots. The Pro Cup pole goes to the #51 Ferrari, while the Gold Cup is led by the #58 McLaren. Car #21 set the fastest lap in the Silver Cup. Championship leaders Charlie Weerts and Kelvin van der Linder put their #32 BMW in P23 during Qualifying in Valencia, guaranteeing a tight Sprint Championship fight until the end.
Results: GTWC Europe Valencia Qualifying 1 Group A and Group B
