Austin WEC Qualifying Results: Robert Kubica tops the grid – Mick Schumacher fails to advance to the hyperpole session

In the wet and challenging conditions of the 2024 WEC race in Austin, it was Robert Kubica who claimed the pole position for the #83 Ferrari (Kubica, Ye, Hanson) from AF Corse.

The private Ferrari team took the first starting spot in qualifying, with Giammarco Levorato leading the #88 Ford Mustang GT3 to the first pole position in the WEC. Levorato grabbed the pole in the last second with a 2:07.645, just edging out the competition.

Ben Tuck in the #77 Ford Mustang finished second, a mere 0.018 seconds behind Kubica. Antonio Giovinazzi finished second in the #51 factory Ferrari (Pier Guidi, Giovinazzi, Calado), while Nicklas Nielsen completed the top 5 in the #50 Ferrari (Fuoco, Molina, Nielsen).

Jean-Eric Vergne caused a small surprise with third place for Peugeot. The Manthey-entered Porsche 911 GT3 R struggled, with the championship-leading #92 Porsche (Lietz, Hardwick, Pera) finishing in 14th place and having a 5-second gap in Q1. The second Porsche, driven by the all-female trio of Celia Martin, Rahel Frey, and Michelle Gatting, finished last in 18th place.

Kamui Kobayashi finished last in 18th place in the WEC race, after gambling on rain tires in qualifying. The #88 Ford Mustang (Olsen, Gattuso, Levorato) was initially disqualified in Q1, but advanced to Q2 due to a late penalty for an AF-Corse Ferrari.

Valentino Rossi qualified fourth with a 2:08.972 minutes in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Rossi recovered in time after his first fast lap was disqualified for a track limit violation. Kubica set the fastest lap time of 1:57.655 minutes on slick tires during the Hyperpole session.

Ferrari claimed its fourth pole in the sixth qualifying session of the year, with this being the first pole for Kubica and the yellow AF-Corse Ferrari 499 P. The #7 Toyota chose a split tire strategy in Q1, but it didn't pay off.

As the WEC race in Austin approaches, the stage is set for an exciting competition, with Kubica and the Ferrari team looking to take the lead. Stay tuned for more updates from the race.