The McLaren 650S GT3 claims pole position for the 2014 Gulf 12 Hour on its debut outing
The team’s second entry will start P10 in the Pro-Am class.
Photo by: Gulf 12 Hours
McLaren GT works drivers Rob Bell (GB), Kevin Estre (FR) and Alvaro Parente (PT) will start on pole position for the 2014 Gulf 12 Hour, after the trio drove the 650S GT3 on its competitive debut outing at the Yas Marina Circuit this afternoon. The team’s second entry will start P10 in the Pro-Am class. The 12 hour endurance race is the final development stage for the 650S GT3 before it enters competition with McLaren GT customer teams next season.
The team worked tirelessly to prepare the two car entry ahead of the qualifying session, which saw Rob Bell top the timesheets in the first session with the #59 car, and Alvaro Parente narrowly beaten into second place in the second 15 minute period. Kevin Estre struggled with traffic throughout the third session, but his laptime proved quick enough to secure the important pole position when the lap times were aggregated.
McLaren is proving a crowd favourite
The second 650S GT3, driven by the Pro-Am trio of Peter Kox (NL), Nico Pronk (NL) and Gilles Vannelet (FR) has shown consistently pace throughout the three sessions. The silver, white and red liveried McLaren is proving a crowd favourite, and will start P10 in class.
Commenting on the result, Andrew Kirkaldy, McLaren GT Managing Director explained: ‘It has been hard work getting the two cars ready for today’s sessions, and it is a real credit to the team here and back at the factory. Being a McLaren, we all had high hopes for the 650S GT3 this weekend, and hoped to be pushing for a top 10 starting position, but this is the final development test for the car, so to take pole on its debut outing is an outstanding achievement. However, it is only a small part of the weekend, and the team will now regroup and prepare for the real challenge that lies ahead – 12 hours of hard racing.’
The 2014 Gulf 12 Hour is two separate six hour races, taking place on Saturday 13 December. Race 1 starts at 08.50 local time (04.50 GMT), and Race 2 starts at 18.00 local time (14.00 GMT).
McLaren Automotive
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Stoneman, Tordoff headline Strakka's Blancpain line-up
Tekno McLaren confirms Bathurst line-up
Parente slams "horrible" penalty decision in Blancpain finale
Honda MotoGP boss "confused" by "good improvements" not working
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
F1 Chinese GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch, TV channel
WEC Imola: Ye fastest to lead Ferrari 1-2 in practice
The 10 greatest LMP1 races ranked
How a DTM failure became an unlikely Nurburgring 24h winner
How Sauber created its greatest legacy
The legacy that will be left by a tin-top great
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments