“It was important that we were the best in qualifying because of the good starting position and the extra point towards the championship standings,” explains Alexander Stehlig, Director Factory Motorsport FIA WEC. “On race day, we expect very warm temperatures – which will be slightly different to the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. This throws a new challenge at us. Our goal is clear: we want to score perfect points.”
In air temperatures of around 27 degrees Celsius and sunny conditions, Christensen set the fastest time of 1:36.371 minutes early in the ten-minute session. While his brand colleague Bruni matched his pace in the first sector on the 4.563-kilometre racetrack, he was hampered repeatedly by heavy traffic on his remaining laps. As such, the No. 91 Porsche, which he shares with Richard Lietz from Austria, missed out on a front grid row spot in the GTE-Pro category.
In the GTE-Am category, the two 911 RSR fielded by the Project 1 customer team achieved positions five and seven. Lining up on the grid directly behind them is Dempsey-Proton Racing’s No. 77 car. The second ca. 378 kW (515 PS) vehicle campaigned by the experienced German squad tackles the race from P9. The 911 run by the UK team GR Racing claimed P10 in qualifying.
The six-hour race in Fuji gets underway on Sunday, 11 September, at 11:00 am local time (4:00 am CEST).
Drivers’ comments on the qualifying
Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “Personally, I’m delighted that I managed such a great lap. With a view to the championship, the point for pole position can be very important, maybe even decisive. In the race, we’d like to control the field from the front – and that works best when you start from pole position. We did a perfect job today, now we’re facing the next challenge on race day. I’m feeling optimistic.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “It was okay, but I was a bit unlucky on the first three laps – another car kept getting in my way. With a clear run, I definitely could’ve done better. Now we have to live with P3. Still, anything is possible in a long six-hour race.”
Nicolas Leutwiler (Porsche 911 RSR #46): “Best Porsche in our class! That’s what I was aiming for in qualifying. I’m really pleased. I concentrated so hard on the ideal racing line. I made just one small mistake on my flying lap. P5 is fine – anything is possible from that grid position. If we make it through without incident, we’ll have a good chance.”
Qualifying result
GTE-Pro class:
1. Christensen/Estre (DK/F), Porsche 911 RSR #92, 1:36.371 minutes
2. Pier Guidi/Calado (I/UK), Ferrari 488 GTE #51, 1:36.566 minutes
3. Bruni/Lietz (I/A), Porsche 911 RSR #91, 1:36.800 minutes
4. Molina/Fuoco (E/I), Ferrari 488 GTE #52, 1:36.851 minutes
5. Milner/Tandy (USA/UK), Corvette C8.R #64, 1:37.127 minutes
GTE-Am class:
1. Keating/Chaves/Sörensen (USA/P/DK), Aston Martin #33, 1:39.309 minutes
2. Bovy/Frey/Gatting (B/CH/DK), Ferrari 488 GTE #85, 1:39.371 minutes
3. Dezoteux/Ragues/Aubry (F/F/F), Ferrari 488 GTE #71, 1:39.461 minutes
5. Cairoli/Pedersen/Leutwiler (I/DK/CH), Porsche 911 RSR #46, 1:39.796 minutes
7. Kimura/Millroy/Barnicoat (J/UK/UK), Porsche 911 RSR #56, 1:39.853 minutes
8. Ried/Priaulx/Tincknell (D/UK/UK), Porsche 911 RSR #77, 1:39.874 minutes
9. Poordad/Lindsey/Heylen (USA/USA/B), Porsche 911 RSR #88, 1:40.052 minutes
10. Wainwright/Barker/Pera (UK/UK/I), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 1:40.271 minutes
Edited Porsche Factory Press Release
Pictures courtesy Porsche AG
