Zimmer Continues Hot Streak With Zhuhai Pole

Frank Zimmer secured his season leading fifth Pole Position during the twenty minute qualifying session at the Zhuhai International Circuit. It is a total that would equal the amount of pole positions GT-R WC Drivers Champion Ricardo Llosa had during the 2016 season.

The second best lap from the Australian, which he set early in the session, would have been enough to secure Pole Position, but after fellow front row starter Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler put in a lap that would have put him a tenth of a second away from the Factory Pagani driver if his first lap stood, the decision was made to send out Zimmer on a second run. This decision would prove decisive as Zimmer found another two tenths of a second and put Pole Position out of reach for anyone behind. Much like in Malaysia, Frank Zimmer would be the only driver to get into the next second barrier on the time sheets, with no one else going into the 1:27s in the session.

The top eight positions on the grid are taken up by Manufacture entries, with all of the Title Protagonists in the Drivers Championship putting themselves in a good position to score pivotal points on Sunday. The pair of Gerald Pereria Listers find themselves starting on the second row of the grid, continuing their strong form after finishing 1-2 at the last round in Malaysia, with the reigning champions in Ricardo Llosa and Jordan McKenna starting right behind them on the grid.

Leandro Moreira and Jose Pablo Mazzacane complete the Top Ten and will start as the leading Independent runners on Sunday, with Independents Trophy contenders Nathan Scott and Tommy Douglas starting on the sixth row of the grid. Current points leader in the Independents Trophy in Asim Adhikari struggled for one lap pace, leaving the Nepalese driver and co-driver Marlin Hortin with all to work for want to secure the title with two races to spare; they start the race seventeenth.

Pos#ClassDriverTeamTime
162MFrank ZimmerRosenforth1:27.807
228MAlexandre-Laurent VoecklerVittore+0.314
319MFabian ReiGerald Pereria+0.477
420MShane SparksGerald Pereria+0.512
51MRicardo LlosaUnion Saver+0.537
627MDenis van WalwijkVittore+0.778
702MStefan KuntzSolvalou+0.821
82MKarl Lichter ShultzUnion Saver+0.830
97ILeandro MoreiraPulsar+0.843
1039IJose Pablo MazzacaneKjellerup+0.908
1177INathan ScottMinarae+0.925
1273ITom DouglasJLD+0.963
1303MAntonio FazioSolvalou+1.012
1498IRaju ChaliseHimalayas+1.042
1531MPieter KickertRosenforth+1.047
1661GLi QiBITW Team China+1.072
1741IAsim AdhikariBest In The World+1.162
1813IAndoni GarridoAeroracing+1.205
1940IMattias KjellerupKjellerup+1.263
2089ICarlton ChoTeam LKM+1.352
216IRoland DavidsonGulf+1.363
2291INikolas HirvonenGlobex Scorpio+1.379
2311IAnita HorfordBest In The World+1.416
244MGiovanni RodaDelacroix-Serrano+1.454
2512IJohn MagnusAeroracing+1.466
265IGia Van DyckeBelgio+1.477
2750IDawn GrangerEuromotor+1.558
283MRafael ModenaDelacroix-Serrano+1.597
2930IMilan VukovicOnyx+1.617
3051IQuentin BispingEuromotor+1.706