Rain at the beginning and end of the session ensured that qualifying for the first ever ADAC GT Masters at the Spa-Francorchamps Formula 1 circuit would be a thrilling affair. The driver partnership who best mastered the changeable weather in the Ardennes were Nico Verdonck (27, Belgium) and Frank Kechele (26, Ulm) in their Ford GT. In fact, the Lambda Performance duo qualified for pole position in both ADAC GT Masters races to be contested this weekend in Belgium. Furthermore, they not only secured the first Super Sports Car League pole position in five years for the iconic American sports car but also broke an existing record: in the second qualifying heat, Kechele averaged 181 km/h on his hot lap to book first place on the grid for the ADAC GT Masters race on Sunday.

Local favourite Verdonck dominates qualifying in changeable conditions

The pole position claimed by Nico Verdonck for the first race on Saturday resulted from perfect strategy. Although there was light drizzle at the start of the session, the Belgian left the pit lane on slicks. Verdonck was consistently the fastest driver – at first on a wet track, then in drying conditions and finally on a dry surface. Both Simon Knap (24) from the Netherlands in a DB Motorsport BMW Z4 and Maximilian Buhk (20) in a Polarweiss Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG made one more attempt to crack the Ford driver´s lap time but were unable to displace him from the number one spot. The strength of performance in qualifying suggests that Saturday´s race will be a close-fought encounter: the first eight places on the grid have been booked by cars displaying no fewer than six different badges on their grilles.

"The team had a perfect strategy in qualifying today," said a delighted Verdonck. "I went out right at the start of qualifying onto a wet track and then stayed out because I saw that the rain was easing off. That was a smart decision. When the track was dry, my YOKOHAMA tyres had perfect grip, while the other drivers were still trying to get their tyres up to operating temperature."

Kechele makes it a double pole for Lambda Performance

Verdonck´s team-mate Frank Kechele then showed that he had nerves of steel in the second qualifying heat for Sunday´s race. Kechele bided his time until the halfway point before emerging from the pits. On his first flying lap, the 26-year-old moved into third place. A second hot lap followed immediately, catapulting him to the top of the timesheets and displacing Austrian driver Martin Ragginger (25) in the Tonino - Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911. When the rain set in again five minutes before the end of the qualifying, Kechele had his sixth ADAC GT Masters pole in the bag. "Getting pole position was the result of great teamwork," said a jubilant Kechele. "Our engineer sent us out onto the track at just the right time. Spa-Francorchamps is perfect for our Ford GT; there is probably no other track on the calendar that suits our car better."

Starting from the second row on Sunday will be defending champion Maximilian Götz (27) in a Polarweiss Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and René Rast (26) in an Audi R8 entered by Prosperia C. Abt Racing. The grid for the second race of the weekend is also an eclectic mix of vehicles, with six different marques having qualified in the Top Seven.

ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Marioneck is ‘Speed King´

Corvette driver Lennart Marioneck (Callaway Competition) wrote his name into the history books on Friday. The 24-year-old ADAC Sports Foundation protégé from Munich reached a top speed of 271 km/h at the end of the long Kemmel straight in the second qualifying session at Spa. No ADAC GT Masters driver has ever been clocked at a higher speed.