Rookie Daniel Brown and GT ace Allan Simonsen took the pole positions for this weekend’s British GT double header at Spa-Francorchamps.
Brown, who leads the championship with team-mate Stuart Hall after winning both races on the opening weekend at Oulton Park, clocked a best time of 2:29.566s in his Rollcentre Racing Mosler MT900 to take pole position for race 1.
The teenager was the only driver to dip below the 2 minute thirty second mark, with the invitational class Barwell Motorsport Ginetta G50Z second quickest with a time of 2:30.096s set by Andrew Smith. David Jones put the Preci Spark Ascari KZ1R third, with Gregor Fisken an impressive fourth just three tenths further back on his championship debut in the second Rollcentre Mosler.
The sparsely populated GT4 class was topped by the Team WFR Ginetta G50 driven by Jody Firth, whose best time of 2:42.918s was 1.7 seconds quicker than the Rob Austin Racing G50 driven by Gary Simms.
Each driver’s team-mate was required to qualify for the second session which decided the grid for race 2, with Australian Allan Simonsen putting the Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 on pole with a stunning best of 2:26.396s.
Simonsen’s time was over seven seconds faster than that of his team-mate Hector Lester in the first session and more than 1.6 seconds quicker than the next faster race 2 qualify Aaron Scott in the ABG Motorsport Dodge Viper.
Martin Short qualified third in the Rollcentre Mosler he will share with Fisken, with Oliver Bryant fourth in the Ginetta G50Z.
Hunter Abbott secured pole position in the GT4 class in the Rob Austin Racing Ginetta, from Nigel Moore in the Team WFR car.
Meanwhile, the RPM Motorsport Ford GT, which was due to make its 2009 debut in the hands of Michael Bentwood and Philip Walker, has been withdrawn from the race weekend.
British GT Championship qualifying
Race 1
1 Rollcentre Racing, Daniel Brown, Mosler MTR900, (GT3) – 2:29.566
2 Barwell Motorsport, Andrew Smith, Ginetta G50Z, (INV) – 2:30.096
3 Preci Spark, David Jones, Ascari KZ1R, (GT3) – 2:30.232
4 Rollcentre Racing, Gregor Fisken, Mosler MTR900, (GT3) – 2:30.536
5 Barwell – Beachdean, Andrew Howard, Aston Martin DBRS9, (GT3) – 2:30.758
6 ABG Motorsport, Craig Wilkins, Dodge Viper, (GT3) – 2:31.350
7 Chad Racing, Paul Warren, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:31.482
8 VRS Equipment Finance, Phil Burton, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:33.720
9 Rosso Verde, Hector Lester, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:33.728
10 M-Tech, Duncan Cameron, Ferrari 430 Scuderia, (GT3) – 2:34.942
11 22 GT Racing, Tom Alexander, Aston Martin DBRS9, (GT3) – 2:34.942
12 Team WFR, Jody Firth, Ginetta G50, (GT4) – 2:42.918
13 Rob Austin Racing, Gary Simms, Ginetta G50, (GT4) – 2:44.648
14 Stark Racing, Ian Stinton / Matt Thomas, Ginetta G50, (GT4) – 2:44.816
Race 2
1 Rosso Verde, Allan Simonsen, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:26.396
2 ABG Motorsport, Aaron Scott, Dodge Viper, (GT3) – 2:28.004
3 Rollcentre Racing, Martin Short, Mosler MTR900, (GT3) – 2:28.336
4 Barwell Motorsport, Oliver Bryant, Ginetta G50Z, (INV) – 2:28.388
5 Rollcentre Racing, Stuart Hall, Mosler MTR900, (GT3) – 2:28.826
6 VRS Equipment Finance, Adam Wilcox, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:29.138
7 Barwell – Beachdean, Jamie Smyth, Aston Martin DBRS9, (GT3) – 2:29.858
8 Preci Spark, Godfrey Jones, Ascari KZ1R, (GT3) – 2:30.116
9 22 GT Racing, Adrian Wilmott, Aston Martin DBRS9, (GT3) – 2:30.182
10 Chad Racing, Chris Hyman, Ferrari 430, (GT3) – 2:30.880
11 M-Tech, Mike Wilds, Ferrari 430 Scuderia, (GT3) – 2:31.338
12 Rob Austin Racing, Hunter Abbott, Ginetta G50, (GT4) – 2:39.694
13 Team WFR, Nigel Moore, Ginetta G50, (GT4) – 2:39.912
14 Stark Racing, Mike Thomas, Ginetta G50, (GT4) –2:49.492
Watch British GT Championship highlights on Motors TV in 2009.
Andy Wilkinson
International
