Glenn Smith and John De Veth were double trouble at Hampton Downs today, claiming pole for the one- and three-hour race in the North Island Endurance Series.
The SBT Motorsport duo overcame a wet-dry day to comfortably secure front-row starts in both of tomorrow’s races.
The sheer grunt of the McLaren 650S, coupled with a steady aerodynamic package, meant Smith and De Veth ended up 1.6s faster than second-place John Midgley in the one-hour qualifying.
Midgely edged the Audi R8 of Anthony Leighs to hold onto second, meaning the first three places in tomorrow’s race mirrors the podium from round one at Pukekohe.
Joining Leighs on the second row is the Tim Martin and Luke Neuberger Nissan GT-R, an impressive performance from the Class 1 duo.
Lochlainn Fitzgerald-Symes was the best of the hodgepodge of Porsches entered in the one-hour race and will start fifth.
A measly 0.039s was the difference separating the 991 GT3 of Kris Bostock and Gene Rollinson in the Hyundai TCR. As a result, the pair will start sixth and seventh.
Smith was behind the wheel of the second SBT Motorsport McLaren for qualifying in the three-hour, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race.
Smith only completed nine laps across the session, with his best – a 1.00.899s – coming on his final flyer.
Darren Kelly will line up second in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin. The championship leader was nearly a second behind Smith.
Behind Smith and Kelly is an all-Audi second row.
Neil Foster and Jonny Reid will start third ahead of teammates Andrew Fawcett and Sam Fillmore.
Matt Dovey and Jono Lester opted to run at the very start of the session before returning to the pits for the final 15 minutes to focus on setting up the car for tomorrow.
After missing the first round due to a driveshaft failure, the DFM Racing Audi A5 V8 will kick off its season from fifth.
Geoff and Martin Short were sixth in their first appearance of the year, driving an Audi R8.
Unfortunately, the much-anticipated debut of the Renault R.S 01 will be put on hold as the car was not seen running today.
In the two-hour ‘clubman’ race, Brendan Murphy and Brock Cooley will head the field in their Seat Supercopa.
Both the one- and three-hour race are live on Sky Sport 8 tomorrow, with viewing times below:
- One Hour: 11.30 am
- Three Hour: 1.30 pm
- Two Hour: 9 am (not televised)
Main Image: Matt Smith