Van der Ende / Van Oranje best Competition102 GT4 European Series qualifiers for Silverstone 500

Ricardo van der Ende and Bernhard van Oranje were the best placed drivers in the qualifying session for round three of the Competition102 GT4 European Series at Silverstone. By joining the British GT Championship, the combined field now consisted of 51 GT vehicles. Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty, part of the British series, qualified on pole position for the Silverstone 500 in the GT4 category, setting a team’s best time with the McLaren 570S GT4.

The starting grid for the three-hour endurance race was made up by the average of the best time set in both qualifying sessions combined.

Luca Anselmi was the Competition102 GT4 European Series driver in Q1. The Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 driver beat Ekris M4 competitor Rob Severs. The Dutchman was less than 0,3s quicker than fellow countryman Luc Braams who drove the Chevrolet Camaro GT4. Jörg Viebahn brought the Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4 home in fifth and lapped 0.08s quicker than Van Oranje.

In the second ten-minute session the PRO drivers battled for the best positions. Van der Ende clocked the third time overall. With setting a 2:12.924s, he was 0.3s slower than overall pace setter Jake Giddings with the Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Duncan Huisman set the second best time in the European GT4 division by lapping less than 0.2s slower than Van der Ende.

With the best lap time from both sessions combined, Van der Ende and Van Oranje were the best placed European GT4 competitors. They will start in seventh position on the grid, in front of Braams and Huisman. Giorgio Sernagiotto matched the qualifying time of his team mate Anselmi and combined they were ranked third in the division, in front of Simon Knap and Rob Severs.

Mike Hansch and Riki Christodoulou set the best combined time in the AM division. The PROsport Performance drivers qualified in front of AM class leaders Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger. Autorlando Sport’s Ghezzi Giuseppe and Giovanelli Allessandro were in third with the Porsche 911 (997) GT4.

“We are extremely happy with the result, especially for the guys [mechanics]. They have worked very hard the past couple of weeks to get the car ready again. We came here and everything worked,” Van der Ende commented. The BMW M4 GT4 was damaged in first practice at the Pau street track last month. “Today, in first practice we searched for the right setup and in second practice we were already on pace. And with new tyres the outlook for tomorrow’s race is promising.”

The three-hour Silverstone 500 race, consisting of a combined field with 51 GT3 and GT4 cars, starts Sunday at 12:50 hr local time and will be televised by Motors TV. Live timing and live text will be available at www.gt4series.com/live.

Competition102 GT4 European Series – Silverstone 500 – 11-12 June 2016

Qualifying, GT4E division, top 10 teams’ best time:

1. Ricardo van der Ende / Bernhard van Oranje, Ekris M4 GT4, 4:28.651s
2. Duncan Huisman / Luc Braams, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, 4:28.764s
3. Luca Anselmi / Giorgio Sernagiotto, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, 4:28.944s
4. Simon Knap / Rob Severs, Ekris M4 GT4, 4:29.538s
5. Jelle Beelen / Marcel Nooren, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, 4:30.204s
6. Jörg Viebahn / Peter Terting, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, 4:30.232s
7. Mauro Calamia, Giuseppe Fascicolo, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, 4:30.936s
8. Nicolaj Møller Madsen / Andreas Patzelt, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, 4:31.016s
9. Mike Hansch / Riki Christodoulou, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, 4:32.556s
10. Hendrik Still / Michael Epps, Sin Cars Sin R1 GT4, 4:33.347s