6 Hours of São Paulo – Qualifying: Alex Lynn (Cadillac) masterful, Peugeots well placed
To everyone's surprise, the #12 Cadillac took pole position. The Peugeots were surprising, in a good way, during qualifying. In GT3, Eduardo Barrichello was masterful on his home turf. He took pole position, the first for him and his team in the WEC.
After the three practice sessions, Ferrari and Porsche seemed to be the favorites for pole position, with BMW as the outsider. In GT3, the Corvettes and Lexus were contenders for the best time, with Eduardo Barrichello lurking in the Aston Martin #10. Was this hierarchy respected during the qualifying sessions?
In GT3
As expected, Lexus made a strong impression. During the first part of the qualifying rounds, the #87 clocked an impressive time six minutes before the end to secure a spot in the hyperpole. Throughout the session, it was difficult to determine which other cars would make it to the second phase.
With each lap, everyone’s best times improved. The Corvettes emerged and were genuine threats, just like the McLarens. The Ford #88 was impressive and secured its place with a very fine third position.
Also noteworthy is the impressive performance of the Mercedes #61, which achieved the fifth-fastest qualifying time. The Iron Dames, thanks to Célia Martin, managed to qualify for the hyperpole, just like the Aston Martin of Racing Spirit of Léman.
On the other hand, a big blow for BMW, which didn’t place any cars in the top 10.
The eliminated: BMW #31, Mercedes #60, Ford #77, Ferrari #21, BMW #46, Porsche #92, Aston Martin #27 and Ferrari #54.
Eduardo Barrichello was efficient from the start (1’33″849). The Brazilian was the first driver to go under the 1 minute 34 seconds mark. The man in the Aston Martin #10 kept his first place throughout the session, although he was threatened by the Lexus #87, just 0.024 seconds off his time.
The Brazilian gave his team, Racing Spirit of Léman, its first pole position in WEC. Both Lexuses will be behind car #10 on the grid. Notably, the impressive performance of the Mercedes #61 with the fourth fastest time.
In Hypercar
Impressive Peugeots. They achieved the second and third fastest times. A surprising performance as they had been in the midfield during the practice sessions. Qualifying was disappointing for Alpine with 15th and 16th places. At Ferrari, it was also a grim situation with the 14th and 17th positions for the Italian cars.
What surprises in these qualifications. The Aston Martins failed just short of reaching the hyperpole with the 11th and 13th references. The Toyota #7 will start from the last place.
**The eliminated:** Toyota #7, Ferrari #51, Alpine #35, Alpine #36, Ferrari #50, Aston Martin #007, Porsche #99, and Aston Martin #009.
While people expected the Porsches to take pole position, the Cadillacs came out of nowhere and clocked the two best times. A performance similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alex Lynn, in the #12, was once again impressive by securing pole position (1’22″570).
The Porsche #5 will be lying in wait, in third place, right next to the surprising Peugeot #94. The Ferraris will have work to do during the race as the best placed one is the #83, in 8th position.
