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United Autosports USA Takes Pole Position for 4 Hours of Aragon
Phil Hanson of United Autosports USA secured the overall pole position for the 4 Hours of Aragon. The British driver achieved this feat by posting a best time of 1m46.822 in the no22 United Autosports USA Oreca-Gibson. However, the no47 COOL Racing Oreca of José María López went quicker by 0.021s later in the session, but his lap was deleted due to a track limits violation, moving Lopez down to fourth.
Neel Jani in the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca was second fastest at the chequered flag after holding provisional pole position on two occasions earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the LMP2 session was red-flagged before any of the eight cars had set a time after the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of James Allen stopped on track. This reduced the session time to 11 minutes for the rest of the field.
The Swiss driver’s time of 1m46.850 was 0.028s behind Hanson and 0.051s ahead of Olli Caldwell in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca, which will line up on Row 2 with the no47 COOL Racing Oreca. IDEC Sport were fifth quickest ahead of the second United Autosports USA Oreca and the no65 Panis Racing entry.
Racing Team Turkey Claims LMP2 Pro/Am Pole Position
Salih Yoluc of Racing Team Turkey secured the top spot on the LMP2 Pro/Am grid for the 4 Hours of Aragon by posting a best time of 1m49.361, despite facing several challenges throughout the 15-minute session.
Yoluc will be joined on the front row by the no99 Proton Competition Oreca after former LMGTE Champion Giorgio Roda posted a 1m49.682. The third-fastest car was the no24 Nielsen Racing Oreca of Rodrigo Sales, who finished 0.177s behind the no34 Oreca.
Francois Perrodo was fourth fastest in the no83 AF Corse in 1m49.898, nearly four tenths ahead of Alexander Mattschull in the no19 Team Virage Oreca-Gibson.
Inter Europol Competition Claims LMP3 Pole Position
Wyatt Brichacek of Inter Europol Competition secured the first-ever LMP3 pole position for the team, posting a session-best time of 1m52.269, fending off a determined challenge by several cars for the top spot for the 4 Hours of Aragon.
The no13 Ligier-Nissan will head the 12-car grid by 0.321s, with the no31 Racing Spirit of Léman Ligier of Antoine Doquin posting the second-fastest time of 1m52.590. Row two will be headed by the no8 Team Virage Ligier, with Eurointernational in fourth and fifth.
The no11 Ligier finished ahead of the sister car. Championship leader Marcos Siebert in the no17 COOL Racing briefly went into provisional pole position before a track limits violation deleted his best time, with the Argentine eventually finishing sixth.
JMW Motorsport Claims LMGTE Pole Position
Martin Berry of JMW Motorsport secured his second pole position in the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, posting his fastest lap as he took the chequered flag in 1m57.022. Johnny Laursen, the former ELMS Champion, will line up on the front row of the class grid after holding the provisional pole position for several minutes, with his best time of 1m57.263 just two tenths slower than the pole time.
The second row is an all-Porsche affair with Ryan Hardwick, recovering from an earlier trip into the gravel that brought out a red flag, finishing third with a 1m57.375 in the no16 Porsche, 0.199s faster than his Proton Competition teammate Michael Fassbender in the no95 911 RSR-19.
The 4 Hours of Aragon is Round 3 of the 2023 European Le Mans Series and is due to start at 18h00 this evening, with the race finishing after sunset.
