The two qualifying sessions were extended by five minutes each, 25 minutes total, given the length of the Belgian circuit (7 kilometers). Few incidents to note other than a red flag following contact between the No. 4 CLM P1/01 AER and the No. 43 Ligier JS P2, the former leaving debris on the tack near the Raidillon. Race Direction chose to bring out the red flag and clean the sensitive area of the circuit!

LM P1, first pole position of the year for Porsche
The win at Silverstone certainly galvanized the Porsche Team troops. Indeed, the No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by world champions Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard scored pole position at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The No. 2 919 Hybrid, winner at Silverstone with Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, rounded out the first row. The third time (1,9sec from the best time) was clocked by the No. 6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid and confirmed the Japaneses marque is back in shape after Silverstone. The first Audi, the No. 8 R18, was fourth.

LM P2, G-Drive Racing confirms
G-Drive Racing's No. 26 Oreca 05 Nissan driven by René Rast, Roman Rusinov and Nathanaël Berton once again clocked the best time. At less than five-tenths were the No. 36 Alpine A460 and the No. 45Oreca 05 of Manor. The fourth time went to G-Drive Racing's No. 38 Gibson 015S Nissan which won at the 4 Hours of Silverstone in the European Le Mans Series a few weeks ago. As for the winner at the Silverstone round in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), the RGR Sport by Morand No. 43 Ligier JS P2 came in fifth.

LM GTE Pro, Ferrari bis repetita
Ferrari and its new weapon, the Ferrari 488 Italia, once again demonstrated its potential by scoring pole position and even the one-two. AF Corse's No. 71 driven by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird, already winner at the first WEC round recently, was fastest again. It was ahead of its sister car, the No. 51 driven by James Calado et Gianmaria Bruni. Three-tenths behind the two Italian cars was the first of the Aston Martin Vantages, the No. 97, followed by the two Ford GTs. Experiencing difficulties since the beginning of the meeting, the No. 77 Porsche of Dempsey-Proton Racing came in seventh, more than two seconds behind the best time.

LM GTE Am, Aston Martin Racing fastest
The No. 98 Aston Martin V8 Vantage driven by Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda proved fastest in this class. This car carved a significant gap ahead of its pursuers, AF Corse's No. 83 Ferrari, winner at Silverstone, by more than 1.5 seconds. The virtual podium was rounded out by the No. 88 Porsche 911 RSR of Au Dhabi-Proton Racing.  

The race will take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 7th at 2:30 p.m. local time (finish at 8:30 p.m.). 

David Bristol / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE CASTELLET (VAR, FRANCE) PAUL RICARD CIRCUIT, WEC PROLOGUE, MARCH 25 2016. The No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid was the fastest this afternoon during qualifying.