to give Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP perfect starting spot for 2021 24 Hours of Spa
Back-to-back Super Pole triumphs for AKKA ASP and Mercedes-AMG factory star Marciello
German brand secures Super Pole for third season in a row
Lamborghini provides strong competition in final qualifying shootout
For the second year in succession Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP will start the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa at the very front of the grid after a scintillating lap by Raffaele Marciello secured top spot in Friday’s Super Pole.
The Italian confirmed his status as one of the fastest drivers in any discipline by emerging on top against world class opposition. In doing so, he became the first person to secure back-to-back Super Pole triumphs and gave Mercedes-AMG its third successive P1 start at Spa.
Marciello ran last in the 20-driver shootout after he and his AKKA ASP teammates Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella topped yesterday's full-field Qualifying session. This could have been a poisoned chalice, as dark clouds gathered over the track shortly before Super Pole began. Light rain was falling when the first car rolled off, though ultimately the weather would not play a significant role.
After a number of the early runners had laps cancelled for track limits, the first driver to make a serious bid for pole was Ben Barnicoat, who ran second in the #38 JOTA McLaren and posted a 2m18.597s. This remained the benchmark until Ricardo Feller (#14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini) went three hundredths quicker, demonstrating the potential that the Italian marque’s Huracán GT3 has shown all week at Spa.
This was the latest in a series of impressive showings from the young Swiss racer, but his time on top was brief as Mirko Bortolotti delivered a special lap at the wheel of the #63 Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini. The Italian ran 10th, but as successive drivers failed to beat his 2m18.525s a first Super Pole triumph for Lamborghini edged closer.
Running fourth from last, Maro Engel looked on course to topple Bortolotti at the wheel of the #4 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT entry, but a small error at the final chicane scuppered his chances and left the German driver second. Nicki Thiim could not contend for the front-row in the #95 Garage 59 Aston Martin, which just left Marciello.
After mastering heavy rain last year, the Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP driver had clear skies above when he took to the track in search of another Super Pole. He completed the job on his first flying lap, becoming the only driver this year to break the 2m18 barrier at Spa-Francorchamps by setting an unmatchable 2m17.949s. There was no improvement on his second tour, but it did not matter: Marciello had done it again.
He led an all-star top-three ahead of Bortolotti and Engel, while Feller confirmed his status as future champion by placing fourth. This gave the #14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini pole in the Silver Cup and represents the best-ever qualifying position for the class at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.
Sheldon van der Linde was a fine fifth in the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW, followed by the equally impressive Barnicoat. Mattia Drudi (#66 Audi Sport Team Attempto), Nicky Thiim (#59 Garage 59 Aston Martin), Mathieu Jaminet (#22 GPX Racing Porsche) and Felipe Fraga (#89 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG) completed the top-10.
As well as the #14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini, three more Silver Cup contenders competed in Super Pole: Pierre-Alexandre Jean put the #107 CMR Bentley 12th, Thomas Drouet took 16th in the #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG, while Philip Ellis was 19th in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. Seven brands were represented in the top-10, with only Bentley and Ferrari absent.
The 2021 TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa will get underway tomorrow at 16:30 and will see Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP seek to become only the second team in 10 years to win the race from pole. Every minute of the action will be streamed live on the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa website, the event's official Facebook page and the GTWorld YouTube channels.
Raffaele Marciello, #88 Mercedes-AMG Team AKKA ASP: “I just wanted to try and qualify the car inside the top five and to stay out of trouble at the beginning of the race. That's why I didn't drive too aggressively. For the race I can count on an excellent team and mega team-mates. I think we have the package to do really well, but we are not the only ones that want to win this race. We will need a bit of luck with the weather, the strategy, etc. But if everything goes right we should be able to be at the front.”
