Ford GT factory driver Harry Tincknell is refusing to believe the wide spread of times during qualifying for the 6 Hours of Spa will carry through into Saturday's race.
The 25-year-old, who this weekend shares the #67 Ford with regular team-mate Andy Priaulx and additional Le Mans driver Pipo Derani, is confident that all four GTE-Pro manufacturers will be actively involved in the fight for the win.
Tincknell and Priaulx qualified the car third on the class grid, half a second off the pole effort set by the Sam Bird/Davide Rigon Ferrari.
Whilst the times of the top two marques were closely huddled, Porsche and Aston Martin fell around two seconds off the pace, but Tincknell is certain that those gaps will be bridged come the race start later on Saturday afternoon.
"Ferrari took two sets of tyres during qualifying so it was hard to close the gap in pace," Tincknell told Motorsport Week.com. "We decided to only use one set because we wanted to save ourselves for the race – one of our big focuses is tyre life."
"But, despite that, all the manufacturers are close – I think Porsche in particular were playing a few games in qualifying – so I think you’ll see a line of GTs all together for much of the race. It's going to be incredibly close."
The #67 crew head into the second round of the championship with the wind firmly in their sails.
At Silverstone, the trio dominated the opening six-hour contest by taking pole and winning by 15 seconds.
This weekend at Spa, Tincknell and Priaulx could clinch their fourth WEC victory in five races if the results are counted back to the tail end of last season.
Considering the high standard of racing in the WEC – and GTE-Pro in particular – the possibility of posting that kind of statistical figure shows just how effective the partnership has been.
"Three wins in the last four makes for good reading," said Tincknell.
"All we're focused on this year is winning the world championship. Ford is desperate to win it, and we share that passion as drivers."
"We're pushing all the way in every single race, trying to get maximum points each time. If a win isn't possible we'll fight for second: for example, pole wasn't really on the cards today so we were really happy to get second and third on the grid."
"That's the attitude we're taking for the year. We're on the crest of a wave and we just want to keep that rolling for as long as we can."
Adding to the #67 crew's impressive tally means tackling the unique set of demands posed by the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The seven-kilometre ribbon of tarmac in Belgium's hilly Ardennes region has three distinct sectors, featuring an inimitable mix of straights, tight turns and high-speed cornering moments.
That combination of factors makes it the ideal practice court for Le Mans.
"We have a Le Mans-based car, so naturally we're strong in the high-speed corners like Pouhon and Eau Rouge; the middle sector is our strongest point of the circuit," explained Tincknell.
"We don't quite have the traction of the Porsches and Ferraris so I think the tighter, lower-speed corners such as the opening hairpin at La Source might be considered weaker points."
"But Spa has a bit of everything – it's as close to Le Mans as you're going to get. Bearing that in mind, and since the car is designed for Le Mans, Spa is a good circuit for us in general. We’re looking forward to continuing our run of form and we're confident going into the race."
The WEC 6 Hours of Spa takes place later today (Saturday, May 6th) at 14:30 CET.
