The number 17 Pescarolo-Judd of Harold Primat and Christophe Tinseau will start Sunday’s Spa 1000kms from ninth on the grid following Saturday’s 20-minute qualifying session.

Frenchman Tinseau took on qualifying duties and set a best time of 2:05.358 on his first flying lap to ensure a top-ten starting position for the six-hour race.

The morning’s free practise session saw the weekend’s first major drama when Primat was pushed into the tyre barriers at the high-speed Turn 14 by the Chamberlain Synergy Lola of Bob Berridge. The car suffered some front and rear end damage, but was quickly repaired by the team and returned to the track to complete the session.

Primat said: “We had a big moment this morning when the Chamberlian Synergy car ran into me at Stavelot, which is a very quick corner, and sent me into the tyre wall. We lost some time in the session, but thankfully I was able to get the car back to the pits and the guys fixed it really quickly, which enabled us to go out and do some more set-up work. Christophe has done a very good job in qualifying and is close to the time of our team-mates in the 16 car, which bodes well for the race.”

Tinseau said: “We made some changes to the car to help with the handling and it felt good on my first two flying laps. I was pleased with my qualifying lap, because it was our best time of the weekend, and whilst I’d like to have been a few tenths quicker, this is only qualifying and we have a six-hour race ahead of us.”

Team boss Henri Pescarolo said: “We’ve worked quite well since the start of free practise and the drivers’ times are competitive. We have a good pair of drivers in each car so we can fight for a podium.”