Michal Broniszewski picked up where he left off in free practice by securing his maiden Blancpain GT Sports Club pole position at Brands Hatch earlier today. His Ferrari 458 GT3 was comfortably clear of a chasing pack headed by Nicolas Vandierendonck’s Corvette C6 ZR1 GTE.
The Kessel Racing driver is also taking part in this weekend’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup round and began his busy schedule in the best way possible by leading throughout the 20-minute qualifying session held on Brands Hatch’s full GP layout.
Broniszewski was already fastest when he set his benchmark 1m26.660s lap, a time that would ultimately be good enough for pole by 0.767s from Selleslagh Racing’s Vandierendonck, who recovered from a spin at Paddock Hill Bend to haul himself onto the front row with a late effort.
Martin Lanting was fastest of the Iron Cup contingent in third overall aboard his Ferrari 458 GTE, while his AF Corse team-mate Patrick Van Glabeke ended up 0.151s further back in fourth.
AKKA ASP’s Anthony Pons was another who left his best until last to make it four Prancing Horses inside the top-five, albeit by less than a tenth from JB Motorsport Audi R8 LMS driver Jan Brunstedt who vied for the Iron Cup honours with Lanting over the opening 10 minutes.
Coach McKansy also spent time in the top-three before he and his Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 wound up seventh, one place and just 0.093s ahead of series debutant Karim Ojjeh and his new-generation BMW M6 GT3.
Power steering failure robbed championship leader Mario Cordoni of meaningful laps in free practice, which perhaps also hindered his progress in qualifying: the championship leader completed the top ten, one place behind Alexis de Bernardi.
Michal Broniszewski, Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT3: “The track is so tricky and I had not driven here for two years, so I wanted the extra practice by competing in both Blancpain GT Sports Club and Sprint Cup. I am using different cars and knew what to expect with the Ferrari 458. It is actually easier to drive than the 488 and seems better suited to the circuit, too. Brands Hatch is quite narrow and I had some traffic, so perhaps we could have gone quicker in qualifying. But tomorrow is another story; I have four races and need to start three, so it will not be easy!