“A perfect start to the season!” says a delighted Alexander Stehlig, Director Factory Motorsport FIA WEC.
“We’re on the front row with both cars, the two 911 RSR were at exactly the same level. We were already
pretty thrilled in the practice sessions. We finally worked out a perfect setup in the third free practice – that
was an important step. With a view to tomorrow’s race, there can only be one objective: we want to win.”
The first qualifying session of the 2022 WEC season got underway on Thursday at 7 pm local time. As the
sun started to set, the summery air and track temperatures still hovered around 30 degrees Celsius. The
Porsche GT Team had tweaked the two 911 RSR to the special characteristics of the Sebring International
Raceway during the three practice sessions and the two test days of the previous weekend: the circuit
includes a former military airfield, with about a third of the track made of concrete slabs. The hefty bumps put
enormous stress on the car and drivers.
The qualifying was interrupted early in the ten-minute session when a privateer 911 RSR slid off the track. At
the restart, Bruni promptly set the fastest lap in 1:57.383 minutes. Literally in the last second, Christensen
trumped this result in 1:57.233 minutes after a series of top sector times, which was enough to earn the Dane
pole position for the race.
In the GTE-Am class, Brendan Iribe was the fastest driver of a Porsche 911 RSR. The American achieved P3
at the wheel of the No. 56 campaigned by the Project 1 customer team and was a mere 0.079 seconds off a
front row spot in this category. The two identical nine-eleven models run by Dempsey-Proton Racing take up
the race from positions six and ten. Project 1’s No. 46 entry takes up the first WEC race of the year from
position twelve.
Drivers’ qualifying quotes
Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “That was a tough qualifying. When the red flags came out I
wasn’t sure if I could keep the tyres warm enough. Afterwards, I simply focussed on getting two clean laps in.
I made a few minor mistakes on the first lap, at times the wheels locked up under braking. The second lap
went really well, it was clean and fast, even though the tyres were no longer in the best condition. I hope we
can turn our pole into a race win. We have a tough job ahead of us.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “Michael put in a strong drive, but my lap wasn’t too bad either –
the gap was tiny. We now have a promising starting position for the long race ahead of us. Let’s see what we
can do. One thing is certain: it’ll be a hot and demanding first race of the year.”
Brendan Iribe (Porsche 911 RSR #56): “I really enjoyed my first qualifying session in a GTE car – the
Porsche 911 RSR is great to drive. I felt more and more comfortable in the car from session to session – and
everything simply came together perfectly in the qualifying.”
James Calado (Ferrari 488 GTE #51): “The first qualifying of the year is always a time when you get to
compete in a car with little fuel and new tyres, so it’s always a pleasure to do it. It wasn’t easy because of the
low sun on the horizon in the last turn. We gave it our all even if we didn’t get the desired result. We have to
work even harder to find some solutions to compete with the Porsches out front. It’s the first race of the year,
and anything can happen on this track. The track is very demanding on the cars and the drivers, so the first
goal is to make it to the end”.
Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari 488 GTE #52): “Qualifying was a bit difficult for us, but we still gave it our all. The car
was good today. Even though we couldn’t lap at the same pace as the others, the feeling was still positive.
This was my first qualifying session in the FIA WEC, and I am quite happy with my performance. Of course, I
can improve further, but I did what I could. Now we focus on the race, where tyre degradation can be an
important key”.
Qualifying result
GTE-Pro class
1. Estre/Christensen (F/DK), Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911 RSR #92, 1:57.233 minute
2. Bruni/Lietz (I/A), Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911 RSR #91, 1:57.383 minute
3. Milner/Tandy (USA/GB), Corvette Racing, Corvette C8.R #64, 1:57.696 minute
4. Calado/Pier Guidi (GB/I), AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE Evo #51, 1:59.299 minute
5. Fuoco/Molina (I/E), AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE Evo #52, 1:59.388 minute
GTE-Am class
1. Keating/Latorre/Sörensen (USA/F/DK), Aston Martin Vantage AMR, #33, 1:59.204 minute
2 Dalla Lana/Pittard/Thiim (CDN/GB/DK), Northwest AMR, Aston Martin Vantage AMR, #98, 2:00.570 minute
3. Iribe/Millroy/Barnicoat (USA/GB/GB), Team Project 1, Porsche 911 RSR #56, 2:00.649 minute
6. Ried/Priaulx/Tincknell (D/GB/GB), Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR #77, 2:02.079 minute
10. Poordad/Lindsey/Andlauer (USA/USA/F), Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR #88, 2:03.560
minute
12. Cairoli/Pedersen/Leutwiler (I/DK/CH), Team Project 1, Porsche 911 RSR #46, no time
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