Third pole position for René Rast
On the street
circuit of Monaco, Germany’s René Rast secured his
third pole position of the season. Whilst qualifying for the fourth
round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, the double winner of the
season-opener in Bahrain was 0.109 seconds faster in his Al Faisal
Lechner Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup than Sascha Maassen (Germany) from
Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit. Behind the former Porsche works driver came
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen from the Netherlands in third competing for
Bleekemolen Harders Plaza.Sean Edwards (Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit) from Great Britain grabbed the fourth grid position on the 3.340 kilometre circuit in the Principality on the Cote d’Azur ahead of his compatriot Nicholas Tandy, who leads the BBS rookie classification driving for Konrad Motorsport. Sixth position went to Dutchman Jaap van Lagen (Bleekemolen Harders Plaza). Norbert Siedler from Austria, who last week claimed his first ever Supercup victory driving for VELTINS MRS Racing squad in Barcelona, secured the seventh quickest time in qualifying and takes up the race on Sunday from the fourth row alongside his teammate Jan Seyffarth (Germany).
Jeroen Bleekemolen (Al Faisal Lechner Racing) only managed ninth place in qualifying for the most prestigious race on the Supercup calendar. For the title defender and current points’ leader, born in the Netherlands but residing in Monaco, his hunt for top times came to a premature end in the barriers. Another Dutchman lines up on the fifth grid row, with Supercup record winner Patrick Huisman (Konrad Motorsport) clinching the tenth spot on the grid.
René Rast (pole-sitter): “Of course I’m over the moon about my pole-setting time, but not with my lap. Had I been three or four tenths of a second quicker I would have been really pleased. But it was difficult, particularly towards the end. I encountered a lot of traffic, and there was hardly a lap without a yellow flag or without someone holding me up. With this in mind, pole position is not such a bad result.”
Sascha Maassen (second in qualifying): “In Monaco your qualifying result is crucial, so I’m happy to be taking up the race from the first row. In Barcelona we discovered what had been hampering us at the first two races. We fixed the problem and now it’s onwards and upwards.”
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (third in qualifying): “What a fantastic qualifying session. I’ve never started a Supercup race so far in front. I was consistently fast in just about all my laps and so this is a great starting place for the race. I hope now that we can make the most of this position.”
Qualifying result
1. René Rast (D), Al Faisal Lechner Racing, 1:36.580 minutes
2. Sascha Maassen (D), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 0.109 seconds
3. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (NL) Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza, + 0.154
4. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 0.235
5. Nicholas Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 0.326
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza, + 0.402
