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Awesome Abu Claims Sunday Pole in Queensland
Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim has claimed his first career pole in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Queensland Raceway in the category’s first ever Top Ten Shootout.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering / JMR Mercedes pilot set a 1m 08.5814s with two and a half minutes to go in the second segment of the Shootout, a time that couldn’t be beaten despite the best efforts of Liam Talbot in the Shannons Audi.
With a revised knockout format, the Shootout gave the Am drivers a chance to take the spotlight from the Pros, with two seven minute sessions providing plenty of time to build tyre temperature and set their quickest times.
It was an all-Audi affair at the top of the timing sheets in the first segment of the top ten qualifying session, with Geoff Emery, Brad Schumacher, and Liam Talbot all within a tenth of each other, yesterday’s race winner setting a 1m 09.2028s.
Yasser Shahin in the EMA Mototsport / The Bend Motorsport Park Porsche was fourth in the first segment, with the Triple Eight Race Engineering / JMR Mercedes of Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim the fifth and final driver to advance to the second segment of qualifying.
It was a Mercedes lockout of positions six to ten, with Ross Poulakis the best of the rest in the Harrolds Racing / Volante Rosso Motorsport, missing the cut by a tenth of a second, ahead of the second Triple Eight Mercedes of Prince Jefri Ibrahim, with Mike Bailey, Michael Sheargold, and Christos Batzios rounding out the top ten.
Talbot looked like the man to beat early in the second segment, however Ibrahim set his marker to be the first driver into the 1m 08s range and wouldn’t be bested, though Talbot would set a 1m 08.8656s to join Ibrahim in the 1m 08s range.
Emery would end up third in the Jamec Racing Audi, with Schumacher claiming the Am class pole in fourth, and Shahin rounding out the top five.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS returns to the track for their second and final race of the weekend at 2:10pm this afternoon.
You can catch all the action live, ad-break free, and on demand on Stan Sport.