Pole position for Augusto Farfus and BMW Team Schnitzer at the 10 Hours of Suzuka.

Suzuka. The two BMW M6 GT3s run by BMW Team Schnitzer and Walkenhorst Motorsport will start Sunday’s 10 Hours of Suzuka (JPN), round four of this season’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, from first and third on the grid. Augusto Farfus (BRA), in the #42 BMW M6 GT3, secured pole position with a time of 2:00.455 minutes. Nick Catsburg (NED) was just 0.274 seconds slower in third place. The race begins on Sunday at 10:00 local time (03:00 CET).

Reactions to qualifying in Suzuka:

Augusto Farfus (#42 BMW M6 GT3, BMW Team Schnitzer, 1^st place):

“It is fantastic to get pole position in such a big race and against such a great backdrop as here in Japan. Thank you very much to BMW Motorsport and BMW Team Schnitzer, who gave me a fantastic car. To be honest, we did not expect to take pole, but the slightly cooler weather definitely played into our hands. Despite this, we obviously still have a long and possibly hot race ahead of us tomorrow. We will have to remain fully-focussed and try to stay out in front.”

Nick Catsburg (#34 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport, 3^rd place):

“I’d like to say a big thank you to the Walkenhorst team. This is their first time here in Suzuka. This is also the first time here for us drivers, and we had to get used to the track. With that in mind, I think we did a great job with third place. Augusto was a shade faster than me today, but maybe I can turn the tables in the race.”