Alex Fontana is the first poleman of the 2026 season of the International GT Open, storming the qualifying session ahead of Race 1 and giving the pole to the Porsche of new entry ZRS Motorsport in its maiden appearance in the series. The Swiss-Greek driver stopped the clock in 1.40.507 and was clearly satisfied of his performance: “I was in pole here last, with the 911 of a different team, so it seems I have quite a good feeling with this track. The car was perfect and I’m very happy that ZRS starts its journey in the GT Open with such as good result. I think we can carry on this good pace into the race, although there are many competitive rivals.”
Next to the Porsche in first row will be the AF Corse Ferrari of Tommaso Mosca, beaten by a mere 0s120 and who ld the session at the moment it was red-flagged, roughly at the mid-session mark, after the crash of Norikazu Shibata (AF Corse Ferrari) in turn 4. The Japanese escaped unharmed but the car is heavily damaged and out of contention for the weekend.
In row 2 will be Zak Meakin (Greystone GT McLaren), who posted the same time as Mosca, and Karol Basz (Optimum Ferrari, +0s142), who led the initial part of the session and is the first Pro-Am car.
In row 3, will be the Saintéloc Racing Audi of Jim Pla (+0s315) and the Motopark Mercedes of Maxi Götz (+0s472).
Wit local hero and former GT Open Champion Henrique Chaves ninth in the Blackthorn Aston Martin, it is six different car brands represented in the top-9.
In his GT Open debut, Poland’s Seweryn Mazur (Sendom Racing Team Lamborghini) took pole in Am (1.42.329), posting an excellent 11th time overall.
The #24 Greystone McLaren of Andrey Borodin-Oliver Webb is not taking part to today’s proceedings, because of a professional commitment of the former driver, but will be back tomorrow.