The best Porsche 911 GT3 R takes up the qualifying race at the FIA GT World Cup in Macau (China) from third place. Works driver Earl Bamber (New Zealand) lapped the 6.1-kilometre Guia Circuit in the No. 98 vehicle in a time of 2:16.066 minutes.
“Our car was really good in qualifying,” commented Bamber. “The fact that our lap times were faster than the best results from the practice underscores this. Still, it wasn’t quite enough for the top. I don’t know where the others suddenly found the speed. P3 is a decent starting position for the qualifying race. I definitely have the chance to fight for victory from here.”
Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), who also competes for the Porsche Rowe Racing team, planted the No. 99 sister car on fourth position. Driving for Absolute Racing, Alexandre Imperatori (Switzerland) and Kévin Estre (France) qualified on positions nine and 14 respectively.
The qualifying on the fast street circuit in Asia’s gambling paradise was red-flagged twice. For Bamber and Vanthoor, who had turned the fastest laps in free practice on Thursday and Friday, these interruptions proved unfortunate. The two Porsche works drivers and the reigning IMSA champions were forced to abandon their flying laps.
The reigning World Sports Car Champion Estre experienced a difficult qualifying session. The Frenchman, whose 500 hp Porsche 911 GT3 R (No. 912) sustained damages in an accident during the second free practice, could only rejoin the action at a later stage after extensive repairs. His Absolute Racing teammate, Imperatori, secured a respectable starting spot with ninth place.
The qualifying race over twelve laps gets underway on Saturday, 16 November, at 13:05 hrs local time (6:05 hrs CET). The main 18-lap race takes off on Sunday, 17 November, at 12:25 hrs local time (5:25 hrs CET).
Qualifying result
1. Raffaele Marciello (I), Mercedes-AMG GT3, 2:15.669 minutes
2. Dries Vanthoor (B), Audi R8 LMS, 2:15.972 minutes
3. Earl Bamber (NZ), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2:16.066 minutes
4. Laurens Vanthoor (B), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2:16.195 minutes
9. Alexandre Imperatori (CH), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2:16.934 minutes
14. Kévin Estre (F), Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2:17.940 minutes
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