Will Ferrari advantage hold up over six hours on resurfaced Spa?

Qualifying today at Spa has set up a suite of storylines to follow across both classes for the third race of the FIA World Endurance Championship season tomorrow.

Up front, a weight increase and a reduction in power below 250kph (155mph) for the 499Ps this weekend wasn’t enough of a shift in the Balance of Performance to prevent a Ferrari 1-2-3 in Hyperpole. The three Italian-flagged challengers looked planted on the Spa circuit throughout the pre-race sessions and, in the shootout, yet again, proved simply untouchable.

“We managed the tire warm-up phase well, allowing us to maximize the car’s potential on the flying lap,” pole winner Antonio Fuoco said. “But looking ahead to the race, we know it’s going to be long and complex. We expect several rivals to be very competitive on this track.”

How competitive? Will we see the likes of Peugeot, Cadillac, Alpine and BMW, who all found a way to get within a second of pole, challenge for places on the podium?

The effect that the resurfacing of key areas of the circuit has had on raw performance and tire degradation has certainly become a hot-button topic and will play a role in the outcome. Local hero Stoffel Vandoorne, who put the No. 94 Peugeot fourth on the grid, described the Ferraris as “a little untouchable,” yet feels the new tarmac has helped bring the 9X8s into the fight for the first time this season.

“It’s a little less bumpy, and as you know, our car is not always the best on bumps,” he said. “It provides a little more grip in these areas, and it makes the car much more enjoyable to drive. We’ll see if it is enough for a podium. Ferrari does make mistakes, so we need to play our cards here.”

Is this Peugeot’s chance to put one over on Porsche and Toyota? Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

On the other side of the coin, it was a tough afternoon for both Porsche Penske Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing. The latter was left particularly frustrated with the qualifying times from its GR010s, which will line up a lowly 15th and 16th on the grid. Only Aston Martin THOR Team’s Valkyries were slower.

The reigning manufacturers’ champions would never admit defeat, but the drivers acknowledge that a flawless outing and a generous serving of luck may be needed to fight high up the order.

“I think we need to rely on others’ misfortunes,” said No. 8 driver Brendon Hartley, “which is obviously not a great thing to say. We have to wait for opportunities and maximize our race. I think there is a high chance of scoring points like that.

“If we look at practice, there were so many cars in the gravel or hitting the wall. We must not be one of them and take our chances when they come.”

On the other hand, for Toyota’s halo brand Lexus, it was a historic day, which deserves its fair share of recognition. French team AKKODIS ASP scored the OEM its first ever WEC pole position, off the back of an impressive hot lap from young Finn Gehrsitz.

Racing Spirit of Leman’s Aston Martin had real pace, both Proton Competition Ford Mustangs looked to be in with a shout too, but in the end it was the No. 78 RC F LMGT3, which sits second in the points standings, that set the bar.

It means that of the 10 LMGT3 makes to have taken part in the WEC since the start of the 2024 season, eight have so far set a pole position, with only Ford and Mercedes-AMG yet to reach that height.

A golden moment for Finn Gehrsitz and Lexus. Javier Jimenez/DPPI

It’s a real feel-good story. This is a team that struggled mightily throughout 2024, racing with aging, unfamiliar machinery in a new championship. Yet here it is, a year on from the start of its WEC journey, showing that there’s still plenty of life in the old lady.

“Last year, it was a dream to reach such a championship. It had been the ultimate goal of our team for the past 25 years,” team owner Jerome Policand told RACER. “Unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare as we were last in the early part of the season. We never gave up, though. That’s motor racing!

“Later on in the campaign, we showed flashes of speed. No one noticed it, but we could feel that we were getting close. Then, over the winter, we tried to list all of our weak points. We worked on each one of them. It is paying off now”.

“I am very proud also to have Finn in the team. It has always been a policy of ours to try and find young, unknown drivers. He delivered today on a difficult track, where you need to be committed. He did a lap and kept it together. His lap time even surprised me.

“For sure, it’s an important step for all of us to be on pole today, but the hardest part is yet to come.”