Michael Lyons secured top spot for Scuderia Vittoria for round one of the new campaign after beating defending champion David Ashburn to pole position, but it was Ashburn’s team-mate Richard Westbrook (pictured above) who then came out on top in the second session to put Trackspeed’s Porsche on pole for race two.
In the first 15 minute session, Lyons was the first driver to lap quicker than 1m 40s at the wheel of the new Ferrari 458 Italia and the 20-year-old eventually posted a best time of 1m 38.757s, which saw him secure pole by 0.167s ahead of Ashburn’s Porsche 997 GT3 R.
“It was difficult with traffic and the lap was scrappy, but it was enough,” Lyons said afterwards. “It was tight with the Porsche and that is where the big fight is.”
Behind the top two, the new Preci-Spark Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 was third quickest in the hands of David Jones while Mike Guasch’s Audi and Andrew Howard’s Aston Martin ensured there are five different marques filling the top five places on the grid for the opening 60 minute encounter on Easter Monday. Jim Geddie’s CRS Ferrari 430 Scuderia rounded out the top six.
On the home weekend for the Speedworks Motorsport team, Ron Johnson put the new Corvette Z06 R into the top ten with the tenth quickest time, while Mtech’s new Ferrari 458 Italia turned its first laps in the opening session but will start from the back of the grid in the hands of Duncan Cameron.
The second session went the way of Trackspeed after a storming lap from Westbrook was good enough to put the #1 Porsche into pole position. Four laps was all that were needed for the 35-year-old to secure his spot at the front of the field with a lap of 1m 36.505s putting him well clear of the chasing pack.
Allan Simonsen in the Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 Scuderia was Westbrook’s closest challenger, but his best time was some six-tenths of a second slower than the poleman.
“I really had to push,” Westbrook said. “David did a superb job to get second on the grid for race one and the car felt really good when I went out. The tires came in on the second lap and I knew I had to push. I really hit the sweet spot with the tires on my best lap and there was some luck in that respect, but you have to take any luck that comes your way. We’ve got to stay out of trouble and get a good points haul on Monday.”
Charles Bateman set third-quickest time in the Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari only to lose his place in post-qualifying scrutineering, where his car failed a ride height test. Matt Bell’s United Autosports Audi was promoted to third as a result, ahead of series debutant Jonathan Adam in the Beechdean Aston Martin. Fifth quickest was Matt Griffin in the Mtech Ferrari, despite the car having failed to run in either free practice session earlier in the day.
“I’ve got to say big congratulations to the team as this was the first time the car had run,” Griffin said. “To come out of the box and get fifth on the grid is a massive achievement. We’re not on pole but we’re happy with fifth as there is a lot more to come. We haven’t even taken the lid off the bottle yet.”
The lone GT3B car, Mtech’s Ferrari 430 GT3 will start the two races from 21st and 15th on the grid for the two races.
Provisional results, Round 1 qualifying
GT3
1. Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari – Michael Lyons – 1m 38.757s
2. Trackspeed Porsche – David Ashburn – 1m 38.924s
3. Preci-Spark Mercedes – David Jones – 1m 39.088s
4. United Autosports Audi – Mike Guasch (USA) – 1m 39.883s
5. Beechdean Aston Martin – Andrew Howard – 1m 40.583s
6. CRS Racing Ferrari – Jim Geddie – 1m 40.853s
7. Trackspeed Porsche – Gregor Fisken – 1m 41.126s
8. Rosso Verde Ferrari – Hector Lester – 1m 41.132s
9. United Autosports Audi – Jay Palmer – 1m 41.290s
10. Speedworks Motorsport Corvette – Ron Johnson – 1m 42.314s
Provisional results, Round 2 qualifying AMENDED
GT3
1. Trackspeed Porsche – Richard Westbrook – 1m 36.505s
2. Rosso Verde Ferrari – Allan Simonsen (DEN) – 1m 37.156s
3. United Autosports Audi Matt Bell – 1m 37.562s
4. Beechdean Aston Martin Jonny Adam – 1m 37.956s
5. MTECH Ferrari – Matt Griffin (IRL) – 1m 38.007s
6. CRS Racing Ferrari – Glynn Geddie – 1m 38.055s
7. Predator CCTV Ferrari Adam Wilcox – 1m 38.342s
8. CRS Racing Ferrari – Alex Mortimer – 1m 38.670s
9. Chad Racing Ferrari – Steven Kane – 1m 38.697s
10. United Autosport Audi – John Bintcliffe – 1m 39.032s
Looking for more? Have a look below.
- British GT: Westbrook leads second practice with Trackspeed Porsche
- British GT: Ferrari, Porsche, Audi in first practice from Oulton Park
- British GT: United Autosports, Audi R8 LMS achieve top positions in debut races at Oulton Park
- British GT: Ascari and Ferrari share Oulton pole honours, United Autosport Audi’s on second row
- British GT: Audi R8 LMS cars on track at Oulton Park
