Peugeot’s Malthe Jakobsen has taken pole for the second round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Dane setting a 2:00.653. Second was Will Stevens in the #12 Cadillac, followed by Charles Milesi in the #35 Alpine, with the top 3 separated by just 0.0074 of a second.
However, before that 7 cars needed to be eliminated in order for 10 to go for pole in the Hyperpole session.
In the first qualifying session, two massive shocks: both Toyotas were eliminated, plus the #51 and #83 Ferraris. Only the #50 Ferrari got through, with Antonio fourth, 0.370 slower than the pacesetter, #35 Alpine’s Charles Milesi.
The Frenchman set a 2:00.808 to go fastest, with Malthe Jakobsen, driving the #94 Peugeot, second, 0.215 off the pace. The sister Alpine, the #36 driven by Milesi’s countryman Frenchman Jules Gounon, sat third. 0.016 off Jakobsen.
Going out, then, were #20 BMW’s Sheldon van der Linde, eliminated at the death by Marco Sorensen in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie with a stunning lap from the Dane to go eighth.
Kamui Kobayashi was 12th in the #7 Toyota, while Robert Kubica was 13th in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, with the Pole pitting early after not being able to set a lap quick enough.
14th was Mathieu Jaminet in the #19 Genesis car, setting a brilliant lap to go quicker than a Ferrari and a Toyota. Antonio Giovinazzi was behind him in the #51 Ferrari, with Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota and Pipo Derani, onboard the #17 Genesis, bringing up the rear.
Jakobsen takes surprise pole for Peugeot
Going into Hyperpole, it took some time for the cars to warm their tyres and get the rubber into the performance window. In particular, Jakobsen spun his Peugeot on the exit of Raidillon, flatspotting the tyres which need to be used in the race. He pitted to get a new set, later saying the flatspot “didn’t feel too bad”.
With 5 mins to go, Fuoco was quickest was a 2:03.457. However, seconds later, Milesi, stormed to the top with a 2:00.731. His teammate Gounon went second, but then Jakobsen went fastest with a 2:00.653. Will Stevens, in the #12 Cadillac, then slotted into second, just 0.074 off Jakobsen.
Gounon could only manage fourth on his second to last lap, although he did improve. But that was the way the top 4 finished, with just 0.078 separating the top 3 of Jakobsen, Stevens, and Milesi. Stevens had a last gasp effort after the chequered flag had flown, but it appeared that his tyres were past their best. His first sector wa 2 tenths up but his second sector was 7 tenths off the pace, with his eventual lap time a second off Jaboksen’s fastest.
In fifth was Stevens’ new JOTA Cadillac teammate Jack Aitken, making his WEC debut, just under 3 tenths off Jakobsen.
The two Aston Martin Valkyries were sixth and seventh, with Sorensen in the #009 car ahead of his teammate Harry Tincknell in the sister #007 behind. The best Ferrari could manage was Fuoco’s eighth in the #50 machine, while Stoffel Vandoorne took ninth in the #93 Peugeot. Rounding out the top 10 was the lone BMW in Hyperpole, the #15 of Dries Vanthoor.
Hadrien David claims LMGT3 pole for #87 ASP Lexus
In LMGT3, Hadrien David claimed LMGT3 class pole for the ASP team and Lexus, in the #87 machine, with a 2:16.627.
In the first part of LMGT3 qualifying, comprising a 15 minute qualifying session and a 15 minute Hyperpole, Petru Umbrarescu was fastest in the #87 ASP Lexus, with a 2:17.225. Stefano Gattuso took second, in the #88 Proton Competition Porsche, 0.428 slower, with Martin Berry third in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes, a further 0.406 off Gattuso.
However, more important in this initial session was the cars not able to fight for pole. Cars going out were both Garage 59 McLarens, driven by Alexander West and Antares Au, in 11th and 15, Yasser Shain onboard the #92 Manthey Porsche, Gray Newell in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, Blake McDonald in the #33 TF Sport Corvette, Johannes Zegler in the #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes, Anthony McIntosh in the #69 WRT BMW, and Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari.
Going into the Hyperpole session, Umbrarescu’s teammate Clemens Schmid was initially quickest in #87 Lexus, with a 2:16.968. However, he’d soon get beaten to the tune of over 3 and a half tenths by his Lexus stablemate Hadrien David, who set his 2:16.627 early in the session and was then unbeatable in the remainder.
Second was Zacharie Robichon took second in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, 0.194 adrift of David, while Ben Tuck was third fastest in the #77 Proton Ford Mustang, a further 0.018 off Robichon in the Aston Martin.
Discussion about this post