Porsche starts from pole position in the first race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Spa-Francorchamps. Factory driver Kévin Estre completed the 7.004 kilometre lap in the Belgian Ardennes at the wheel of the Porsche 911 RSR with the starting number 92 in 2:11.219 minutes, setting a new qualifying record for GTE Pro vehicles.

The Frenchman was more than a second faster than the best chaser on his fastest lap. Brand colleague Richard Lietz from Austria took the sister car with the number 91 to the third starting place. The new qualifying format of the World Endurance Championship brought a lot of excitement and action. In contrast to previous years, when two drivers each marked a fast lap per car and the average time determined the starting position, the fight for the best places was now decided according to the motto "One driver, one car, ten minutes full throttle". The consequence: Especially the amateur pilots of the GTE-Am-class were under pressure in the extremely short session. Twice qualifying had to be interrupted due to accidents.

Kévin Estre did not let the red flags in the meantime get out of the concept. Last year's winner of Spa-Francorchamps warmed up his tyres conscientiously on the first lap and already marked a new record time in his first fast lap. That's not all: In his second round, to everyone's surprise, the Frenchman relented. Head shaking also with the Porsche GT Team. "That was a crazy round," the crew radioed into the cockpit of number 92 – a loud cheer was Estre's response. Teammate Richard Lietz hung behind rival vehicles during the fast laps and was unable to fully exploit the enormous potential of the Porsche 911 RSR. In the end, the Austrian was only 0.019 seconds short of a place in the first row.

"This pole is a perfect start to the season. More specifically, this was a mega-pole," says Alexander Stehlig, Head of Operations FIA WEC. "That was a typical Estre, just as he put the car in the first starting position in absolute record time. The starting number 91 is also well positioned in third place. We are very satisfied, but we are looking forward to the race day with great excitement. We want to make the best of the good conditions and finish at least in the same positions after six hours of racing."

In the GTE-Am class, Andrew Haryanto was the fastest driver at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR. The Indonesian finished third in race number 88 from the Customer Team Dempsey-Proton Racing. The Briton Michael Wainwright finished eighth in the same car of GR Racing (number 86). Project 1 driver Egidio Perfetti from Norway and German Christian Ried (Dempsey-Proton Racing) each had an accident in the Raidillon area – better known as Eau Rouge – at the beginning of the time chase and thus did not mark a lap time. Both pilots were uninjured in the incidents.

The first race of the World Endurance Championship will start on Saturday, 1 May 2021 at 13:30 CEST (UTC+2) and will take place over a distance of six hours.

Driver's voices for qualifying

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 RSR #92): "Everything is perfect, just unbelievable! I had a lot of grip, but I made small mistakes in the first quick lap. Even this lap time would have been enough to position the pole, but we just tried again in the second lap. That's when everything really came together optimally. The great lytuned Porsche 911 RSR, little gasoline on board and a lot of adhesion with fresh tyres – it was like a dream. I'm very proud of this round."

Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #91): "The important thing is that no one was injured in the accidents. The interruptions have of course made the qualifying a bit chaotic. We had to put on a second set of fresh tyres and so we have a set less for the race than we thought. For us it didn't go quite optimally, but that's not too bad. The race lasts over six hours. Anything is still possible."

Haryanto (Porsche 911 RSR #88): "The qualifying was a bit crazy, but I knew the team gave me a great car. All the votes suited me as a newcomer. I only had a quick lap and just tried to keep the car within the track limits. That was the best thing I could do and I think I did quite well."

Result GTE-Pro-Class 1. Estre/Jani (F/CH), Porsche 911 RSR #92, 2:11.219 minutes

2. Serra/Molina (BR/E), Ferrari 488 GTE #71, 2:12.315 minutes

3. Bruni/Lietz (I/A), Porsche 911 RSR #91, 2:12.370 minutes

4. Pier Guidi/Calado (I/GB), Ferrari 488 GTE #51, 2:12.443 minutes

5. Garcia/Gavin (E/GB), Corvette C8. R #63, 2:13.106 minutes

Result GTE-Am-Class
1. Keating/Pereira/Fraga (USA/L/BR), Aston Martin #33, 2:14.660 minutes

2. Dalla Lana/Farfus/Gomez (CDN/BR/BR), Aston Martin #97, 2:15.615 minutes
3. Haryanto/Seefried/Picariello (RI/D/B), Porsche 911 RSR #88, 2:16.319 minutes

8. Wainwright/Barker/Gamble (GB/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 2:18.813 minutes 10. Perfetti/Cairoli/Pera (N/I/I), Porsche 911 RSR #56, no lap time

11. Ried/Evans/Campbell (D/NZ/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR #77, no lap time