Charles Milesi became the first LMP2 driver to take two pole positions in 2024, claiming the important championship point ahead of the 4 Hours of Portimao.
The early part of the session was led by the no37 COOL Racing of Malthe Jakobsen, the Dane being challenged by Job Van Uitert in the no28 IDEC Sport Oreca. Jakobsen was on a 1m31.139, 0.311s ahead of Van Uitert at the halfway point of the 15-minute session.
With six minutes left the no65 Panis Racing Oreca made a bid for the top spot, Milesi lapping in 1m31.195 and then posting a 1m30.727 on the next lap to go ahead of Jakobsen. The no37 COOL Racing Oreca improved slightly at the chequered flag to. A 1m31.109 to finish 0.382s behind the leader.
The no27 Nielsen Racing finished at the head of row 2 with Will Stevens with a 1m31.174, just 0.032s ahead of the no25 Algarve Pro Racing of outgoing ELMS champion Alex Lynn.
The championship leading no14 AO by TF qualified in 7th with a 1m31.474 and their nearest rivals for the title, the no43 Inter Europol Competition, in 10th after Tom Dillmann set a best lap time of 1m31.528.
The whole 14 car grid is separated by less than one second, setting the tone for an incredibly close final race of the 2024 ELMS season.
LMP2 Pro/Am: Roda on Pole Again for Proton Competition
For the fifth time in 2024 Giorgio Roda claimed pole position in the LMP2 Pro/Am category for Proton Competition.The Italian driver’s time of 1m32.919 was six tenths ahead of the rest of the field.
Championship contenders Rodrigo Sales in the no29 Richard Mille by TDS and Francois Perrodo in the no83 AF Corse were battling for the other front row position, with Sales claiming second place in the final minute with a 1m33.537, 0.18s ahead of Perrodo in third.
The no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca will start on row 2 with John Falb posting 1m33.919, just 0.202s behind Perrodo.
LMP3: COOL Racing on Pole as Manuel Espirito Santo Claim Top Spot at Home
Portugal’s Manuel Espirito Santo took the third LMP3 pole of the season for COOL Racing with a dominant display in qualifying for the 4 Hours of Portimao. Espirito Santo took pole with a 1m37.498 lap half way through the season and while the other cars tried to get on terms, they were gapped by six tenths of a second to the lead car.
The no4 DKR Engineering Duqueine will also start on the front row of the class grid with Wyatt Brichacek setting a 1m38.104, 0.091s ahead of the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine.
The no15 RLR MSport Ligier was the fastest of the three championship contenders, but Gael Julien could only manage 6th fastest with a 1m38.472.The no8 Team Virage Ligier limped back to the pits with an issue late in the session, with Gillian Henrion only setting the 9th fastest lap, one place higher than Adam Ali in the no11 Eurointernational.
LMGT3: Bovy Claims Fourth Pole of 2024 for Iron Dames
The LMGT3 session saw the no85 Iron Dames Porsche claim the pole position for the final race of the 2024 season in Portugal by nearly a second ahead of the reast of the field.
Bovy set the pace early on with a 1m43.793 lap, ahead of the no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin of Derek Deboer and the no50 Formula Racing Ferrari of Johnny Laursen. Sarah Bovy then lowered her time to 1m42.408, which left the rest of the field scrambling for the minor places on the grid.
At the chequered flag it was the no50 Ferrari that will join the no85 Porsche on the front row of the LMGT3 grid Laursen lowered his best time to 1m43.377 at the chequered flag, but this was still 0.969s behind the lead Porsche.
Row two will be headed by the no97 Grid Motorsport by TF Aston Martin after Martin Berry posted a 1m43.411 lap at the chequered to push the no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin into 4th.
Championship leaders Kessel Racing will start in 10th after Takeshi Kimura lost a couple of fast laps to track limit violations.
The 4 Hours of Portimao will begin at 14h30 BST / 15h30 CEST on Saturday 19 October.