The weather in Portugal was still windy and damp for the first of two qualifying sessions for the ELMS Grand Season finale at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Friday morning qualifying was for Round 5 of the 2023 European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Algarve, which will take place on Friday afternoon, with the green flag due to be waved at 14h45.
The no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca driven by James Allen took the championship point for pole position, extending their lead to 18 points ahead of this afternoon’s 4 Hours of Algarve.
The sun was shining, and the track was drying but still wet in Sector 3 as the 7 LMP3 cars went out on track. The no30 Duqueine Team Oreca went quickest on the opening lap with Neel Jani posting a 1m53.613. Laurents Hörr in the no28 IDEC Sport Oreca also made an early bid for the top spot on the grid, the German driver posting a 1m51.102 before going into the pits for another set of wet tyres.
With six minutes on the clock the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca went to the top of the timing screens, with the Australian improving on every lap until the chequered flag, with a final lap of 1m48.674. Olli Caldwell was second quickest, putting the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca on the front row with a 1m49.555, 0.881s behind the no25 Oreca.
The no28 IDEC Sport Oreca was third and the no65 Panis Racing Oreca of Job Van Uitert fourth.
The sun came out for the start of the LMP2 Pro/Am but the track was still very wet from the earlier rain shower. The no99 Proton Competition Oreca of Giorgio Roda set the pace for most of the 15-minute session, the Italian driver improving on every lap until the final 2 minutes of the session.
Salih Yoluç was looking for his 5th pole position of the season, with the Turk nearly going off track at the final corner, with Yoluç gathering up the no34 Racing Team Turkey Oreca with a display of racing skill. He then set about finding some grip and with 1 minute left on the clock Yoluç set the fastest time with a 1m56.426, just 0.023s ahead of Giorgio Roda.
However, the drama was not over as the no19 Team Virage Oreca of Alexander Mattschull was going even quicker and the German driver crossed the line in 1m55.426, 1.046s faster than the no34 Racing Team Turkey Oreca.
The LMP3 session started wet but with a drying line following LMGTE qualifying. The no8 Team Virage Ligier of Portuguese driver Manuel Espirito Santo set an early lap of 1m56.029 with the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine of Oscar Tunjo 0.226 seconds behind in second place. Then the rain started to fall, making it difficult to find any grip on the track.
The session ended with the times unchanged, despite a late challenge by Oscar Tunjo in the final minute.
The championship leading no17 COOL Racing Ligier of Marcos Siebert was third quickest with a 1m57.727 lap, 0.205s ahead of the no11 Eurointernational Ligier of Adam Ali in 4th.
A very wet flag saw the 12 cars struggling for grip and two red flags interrupted the 15-minute session. The first red flag was caused by the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Duncan Cameron, the British driver sliding off track at T1 before any times had been set.
The session resumed with just under 11-minutes left on the clock and the no72 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Arnold Robin went quickest ahead of Christian Ried in the no77 Proton Competition Porsche. Cameron, who had recovered the Ferrari unaided, made a bid for pole with two fastest laps but with 2 minutes to go the no72 Aston Martin went back to the top of the timing screens.
In the final minute the no93 Proton Competition Porsche of Michael Fassbender went off at T11 into the gravel trap and the second red flag was shown to bring the session to an end.
The no72 TF Sport Aston Martin will start the 4 Hours of Algarve at the head of the LMGTE grid after Arnold Robin posted a 2m01.872 lap, 0.958s ahead of Johnny Laursen in the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari. Duncan Cameron was third quickest in the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari but his best lap was deleted for causing the first red flag of the session, so the no44 GMB Motorsport Aston Martin of Jens Moller finished the session in 3rd, ahead of the no77 Proton Competition Porsche of Christian Ried.
CLICK HERE for the results from qualifying for the 4 Hours of Algarve.
