Aston Martin squad to start Spa GT3 race in seventh
BUDAPEST: Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday amid thunder, lightning and plumes of spray.
Valtteri Bottas made it a Mercedes front row lockout for Sunday’s race, when conditions are expected to brighten up, with title rival Sebastian Vettel only fourth and behind Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton now has 77 career poles, and five this season, but Saturday’s qualifying went against the odds with the opportunity emerging as the heavens opened.
“It’s great for the team to have a one-two. We couldn’t have expected this,” said the 33-year-old, who leads Vettel by 17 points after 11 races in the battle of four times world champions.
“Ferrari have been quickest all weekend and we were doing our best to catch up, but then the heavens opened and it was fair game.
“It’s so tricky out there, at the beginning it was dry and then it got wetter so it was hard to say how much grip we had.”
Vettel had been fastest in Friday and Saturday practice, with track record times in the hot and dry conditions that left the Mercedes drivers spinning and struggling for grip. “It looks like in the wet conditions we aren’t as confident as we are in the dry,” said the German, whose team are mourning the death of former chairman Sergio Marchionne with flags flown at half mast. “We managed well until the end. I think in the dry we were in control but it wasn’t meant to be.” UNLUCKY RICCIARDO
Red Bull had also expected to be in the mix but Australian Daniel Ricciardo, whose win in Monaco raised hopes of a repeat at a track that also plays to the car’s strengths, failed to make the cut in the second phase. He starts 12th.
The rain that fell more heavily in the second phase put a premium on getting in a good early lap but Canadian Lance Stroll spun his MUSCAT: Blancpain Endurance Cup star Ahmad al Harthy and the Oman Racing team will begin this year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa from seventh on the grid in the Silver Cup class... but the squad’s sights are set much higher for the big race which gets underway on Saturday.
During four separate qualifying sessions at the Belgian track on July 26, Al Harthy, Euan Mckay, Charlie Eastwood and Ross Gunn couldn’t quite extract the ultimate time they had hoped for from the No 97 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, but the team-mates all remain positive for raceday.
That wasn’t the full story of qualifying either as Al Harthy was caught up in an incident late in the opening session, when a rival chopped across the front of his car as the Omani was on his cooling-down lap and away from the racing line.
Fortunately, the TF Sport mechanics who prepare the Oman Racing entry swiftly made the required repairs to the damage inflicted on the Aston Martin before session two and the remainder of the evening’s track time, which also included a night practice, ran smoothly.
“Qualifying is qualifying, but it’s always the race which is the most important part in Blancpain Endurance Cup — and especially the 24 hour,” said Al Harthy, the reigning Pro-am Champion in the world’s most competitive GT3 endurance racing series, “We’re all really looking forward to the race, there has been a lot to analyse after qualifying but everyone is confident for the race.”
Following the annual pre-event parade of race cars into Spa town on July 25, the serious track action got underway on Thursday with practice in the morning followed later in the afternoon by prequalifying, where Oman Racing was fourth in the Silver Cup.
Less than an hour later, the first of the four qualifying sessions began with Al Harthy behind the wheel for that 15-minute run. Lapping with a best time of 2m 22.345 seconds, the Omani ended the first period fourth in the Silver Cup in the Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Air, National Bank of Oman, Omantel, Barr Al Jissah and Amouage liveried Aston Martin.
Mckay took driving duties for Q2 and he delivered a lap of 2m 22.067 seconds, which was seventh in the Silver Cup, while in Q3 it was the turn of Eastwood to get behind the wheel — he posted a fastest time of 2m 21.261 seconds.
Oman Racing newcomer Gunn climbed aboard for Q4 and achieved a time of 2m 21.400 seconds so, on the combined average of all four drivers’ optimum lap times, the team concluded qualifying with the seventh fastest effort of 2m 21.768 seconds, less than 0.6 seconds shy of the Silver top three.
“Spa is such a unique challenge, it’s an incredible track and we’re all focused on producing the best performance we can for the full 24 hours,” said Al Harthy. “The team has been working very hard to make sure the car is where we need it, and to ensure we have reliability and consistency which are the two biggest things you need in a 24 hour. Hopefully we can have a strong and competitive race.” BLANCPAIN ENDURANCE CUP ‘SILVER CUP’ DRIVER STANDINGS: 4th Ahmad al Harthy/euan Mckay/charlie Eastwood, 35pts