Dunne: ‘Track position crucial’ in fight for Spa-Francorchamps pole

Alexander Dunne hit the ground running in Spa-Francorchamps, securing the fastest lap in the opening session of the weekend. The Rodin Motorsport driver set a 1:59.519 with his final flying lap to lead the way by 0.399s over his closest rival.

Speaking after the 45-minute outing and reflecting on his and the team’s strong start to Round 9, with teammate Amaury Cordeel finishing up fourth also, Dunne said he was feeling confident heading into Qualifying.

“Yeah it felt pretty good. I knew the pace was hopefully going to be pretty good, and it has been. It was a fairly big gap, I didn’t expect it to be like that, but I think in the end, my lap was very good.

“I think I also had pretty much the perfect track position, so in that last sector, I probably did get a little bit with the slipstream. So I can’t imagine it’ll be the exact same in Qualifying, but I’m happy the pace is good. The car has been pretty good and it’s around about where I’d like it, so I think I’m happy.”

One crucial factor that the McLaren Driver Development talent picked out ahead of the grid-setting session was track position.

That slipstream he got in the final sector will be equally important come Qualifying, and ensuring that tow is provided by another quick driver adds an extra dimension to an already intriguing session.

With Sectors 1 and 3 emphasising top-end speed, the slipstream will be a defining factor during Qualifying according to the Irishman, though it will also be important to get the spacing to the car ahead exactly right.

“I think it’ll probably be the most important factor to be honest. I think putting it on pole I would say is 50% doing a good job, and the other 50% is having a good slipstream.

“I think I would confidently say that it’s nearly impossible to put it on pole if you try and do the lap completely alone. I think having good track position and then making sure that the person in front of you has relatively strong pace as well.

“If you end up catching them too quickly during the lap, it’s also an issue. So it’ll be important to position yourself in the right place on track and behind the right driver as well. It’ll be tricky but I think it should be good.”