Australia’s Team VIP Petfoods has dug deep overnight, taking another significant step towards the prestigious Nürburgring 24 hour podium by bettering their 2006 qualifying result by 8 positions to qualify 13th from the evening session.
From 21st in 2006 the original Team VIP Petfoods Germany line-up of Tony and Klark Quinn, Craig Baird and Kevin Bell finished ninth outright on debut aboard the Porsche GT3 996, receiving international acclaim for their efforts.
Upon acquiring the new Porsche 991 GT3 RSR (Type 997) only last month, the team was again lauded as a definite chance for the podium - with their standing now carrying even more weight following the outfit’s promising qualifying result.
“Qualifying 13th is great and has been a really good boost for the team ahead of the big race, ” said Klark Quinn.
“Eight positions ahead of how we qualified last year is a great result for us as we have been adjusting to the new car.
“At the same time we are really happy with how our 996 has placed, with Max Twigg, Shaun Juniper, Paul Kelly and John Teulan steering it for us to 52nd which has been fantastic for them. ”
Two qualifying sessions, one day and one night, held over the past 24 hours saw the pilots of the Porsche RSR working hard to re-adjust to the circuit 12 months since their last stand there behind the wheel of a different car.
“It is great to be back here, but it has been interesting as with a different car this year it has taken us a lot longer to get used to the track and the setup, ” said Klark Quinn.
“It hasn’t been a major problem though, we have all been able to spend time in the car and have been able to familiarize ourselves ahead of the race.
“We will now make a few changes in regards to the smoothness of the car, but apart from that we won’t be making any large changes ahead of the race start. ”
The two Team VIP Petfoods cars now have nothing standing in their way ahead of the great race – kicking off at 3.00pm local time (11.00pm AEST) today.
Qualifying Results - Session Two - Top 15
1. #1 Porsche 991 GT3 RSR - 8.39.560
2. #3 Dodge Viper GTS-R - 8.40.914
3. #25 Porsche GT3 RSR - 8.44.782
4. #7 Aston Martin DBRS 9/8 - 8.46.052
5. #99 Porsche Cayman RS - 8.50.366
6. #2 Porsche Cayman - 8.51.131
7. #29 Porsche 997 RSR - 8.51.322
8. #18 Lambourghini Gallardo - 8.53.419
9. #50 BMW Z4 M-Coupe - 8.53.805
10. #43 Porsche 997 RSR - 8.57.857
11. #10 BMW M3 E46 GTS - 9.05.561
12. #14 Porsche 911 GT3 - 9.08.701
13. #26 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR - 9.08.830 - Team VIP Petfoods
14. #64 BMW Z4 - 9.10.258
15. #40 Porsche GT3 - 9.11.376
52. #27 Porsche 911 GT3 996 - Team VIP Petfoods
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