Lamborghini All-Inkl squad land first GT1 pole

Lamborghini registered their first ever GT1 pole as All-Inkl pairing Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager produced a scintillating display in qualifying.

Having safely navigated Q1 and topped the timesheets in Q2, the No. 37 Lamborghini then blazed to a 1:51.688s benchmark – the first time any car had dipped below the 1m52s bracket during the weekend, leaving them more than half a second clear of the rest of the field.

Aston Martin Young Driver Racing’s Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke will share the front row with the All-Inkl squad, having topped the Q3 timesheets with three minutes to go. Third will be occupied by the Ford Marc VDS duo of Maxime Martin and Frederic Makowiecki.

Times fell throughout the hour-long qualifying session, setting up a grandstand finish as four different drivers – and four different marques – held top spot in the final five minutes of Q3. Lamborghini’s late flurry proved unmatchable however, giving the All-Inkl squad pole for tomorrow’s qualifying race.

“It couldn’t be better really,” Dominik Schwager enthused following the session. “Quickest in Q2, quickest in Q3 and our first ever pole – it’s great for the team!”

Qualifying began with a frantic opening fifteen minutes in Q1 as drivers scrambled to set an early benchmark, with Nissan at one point occupying four of the top five slots. The No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin eventually topped the session from the No. 21 Nissan Sumo Power GT-R, but with five minutes remaining the No. 4 Hexis Martin, No. 6 Swiss Racing Lamborghini and both Ford GT Belgian Racing cars found themselves in the drop zone and were unable to improve – becoming the first four casualties of 2011 qualifying.

Q2 saw six drivers relegated and as All-Inkl’s No. 37 Lamborghini made its way to the top of the times its partner car, their No. 38 sister car of Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng opted not to complete a flying lap due to gearbox concerns and were consequently relegated.

The Corvette DKR, No. 40 Ford Marc VDS, No. 3 Aston Martin Hexis and No. 5 Lamborghini Swiss Racing were the next casualties from the session, leaving one final slot into Q3. That was eventually claimed by JR Motorsports No. 23 Nissan GT-R, with stable-mates David Brabham and Jamie-Campbell-Walter in the No. 21 Sumo Power GT-R falling into the drop zone by just 0.018s.

Representatives from all five marques therefore progressed into Q3, with three Nissans and two Aston Martins. The sole Lamborghini representative was not to be denied however, as Pastorelli and Schwager blitzed the field to take an imperious maiden pole in the Abu Dhabi dusk.