As he had done at Macau just two short months ago, Erebus Motorsport’s Maro Engel has claimed pole position ahead of the team’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour title defence, the German running at or near the top of the time sheets throughout the three scheduled sessions.
At one stage it looked as if it would be an Erebus SLS white-wash, with Will Davison jumping up to second before a late session charge dropped him back to fourth as he returned to pit lane – in the end just three tenths separated him from P2.
Engel was comfortably within reach of the ‘Allan Simonsen Pole Position Trophy’ from the opening session, but he left the best till last, claiming a stunning 2:03.8586 just minutes away from the close of the 115-minutes scheduled across the three sessions, in the process bettering former F1 driver Mika Salo who had earlier lowered the track record to a 2:03.9421.
“The car was awesome, I loved it,” Engel admitted post-session. “I had a great time, enjoyed myself and got the job done. We were hoping for a clear lap – I lost a bit on one lap behind an Audi, on the second lap I came up on a Ferrari which cost a bit again, so I started the third with the edge just going off the tyres but I was able to do it.”
Like Engel, Davison too became caught up in traffic on his hot lap, falling just three tenths of a second short of a front row start, the top four covered by the smallest of margins.
“I keep looking for tenths, but it’s hard to put together a perfect lap with so much traffic and dramatically different track speeds,” Davison admitted. “It would have been nice to have a front row lockout, but it wasn’t to be. That said, it’s a 12 hour race, so starting position isn’t as vital as it is in a sprint race – we’ve got plenty of time to work ourselves towards the front.”
2013 was a memorable year for the all-conquering SLS AMG GT3, and the most awarded driver on the international stage was 2013 Bathurst 12-Hour champion Bernd Schneider, but it was Engel who qualified the car and not the former F1 and DTM star.
“Yes, I am really happy – [the car is] very quick and with a race set up, full tanks and harder rubber, it was really, really good. It’s a bit easier this year for me, we have a good team. It’s good to be on pole position but when the race starts tomorrow we start over again. I have to bring it home.”
The third member of the team, rising young German star Nico Bastian too was reflective of the team’s performance on qualifying day, but confident they’ll be ready come 6:15am tomorrow morning.
“On full tanks with the medium tyre I am really happy with the lap times. Bernd was very happy with the car and so was I. Tomorrow is a long day, 12 hours around Bathurst for sure will be very interesting, I’m really looking forward to it.”
For much of the second leg of qualifying – which again was marred by incidents and red flag periods – Erebus Academy driver Jack Le Brocq was behind the wheel of the #63 SLS AMG, and at one stage holding down P2.
“I was very happy with my drive,” he admitted with a grin. “I got a little over-steer early, but being on the harder rubber with full tanks it was fine, and it gave us some important data for tomorrow. I got baulked twice, which cost me just that little bit, but overall I’m pleased with my pace.”
Greg Crick too continued to find time in the Erebus SLS AMG, admitting that the closing speed on some of the slower cars caused him a ‘moment’ or two across the top of the mountain.
“I thought I was going to wear a Suzuki on top of the mountain,” he revealed. “I touched him – he’d let a Lamborghini through and I thought he had seen me, but clearly he hadn’t. That’s one of the traps of an event like this and something that could have a big impact on the result tomorrow.
“I’m really stoked with the car, and the chance to do a good few laps in race trim with full tanks and race rubber was important. In the end we were running about the pace we will run in the race.”
So on the eve of their title defence, the Erebus Motorsport GT team are all smiles, but today was only the beginning, tomorrow is when it all counts.
“We’re very happy with the way today has played out,” Daniel Klimenko, Team Principal of Erebus Motorsport GT said. “All the guys have shown they are quick. Look at Jack [Le Brocq], he did limited laps in the car but gets straight down into the sixes (2:06.01), and is right on the pace straight away. And Greg [Crick], what can you say – the guy was a thorn in our sides for years – he’s always quick. I mean, how good is it to have him as your unseeded driver?”