UPDATE: No. 12 JOTA on pole for Sao Paulo 6H, No. 38 penalized for impeding

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will start Sunday's 6 Hours of Sao Paulo from pole position after a stellar performance from Alex Lynn.

The British team’s No. 12 V-Series.R proved untouchable in the Hyperpole shootout, with the Briton running fastest again, like he did in Le Mans last month, with a 1m22.570s. Notably, that lap bettered last year’s pole time by 0.6s.

“It feels great to be on pole again. It’s a special feeling to drive the Cadillac on one lap; it’s a huge honor,” Lynn said. “We’ve just got to put it all together tomorrow. We’re desperate to do it.”

“We knew we needed to start up front; track position is key here,” Will Stevens, who shares the No. 12 with Lynn and Norman Nato, said.

Nato, added: "Big congrats to Alex and the team for another 1-2. We know it's going to be a difficult race tomorrow with a lot of different strategies on tires and a lot of degradation. It's good to start from pole tomorrow, and we are going to try our best to be on the first step of the podium."

Sebastien Bourdais also showed pace for the GM brand, putting the sister No. 38 second with a lap time exactly 0.1s off. However, after the session, the car was handed a one-place grid penalty after the stewards determined that the car impeded the No. 93 Peugeot during the first session. It will therefore start third.

The No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 came closest to breaking the deadlock. Julien Andlauer set a 1m22.834s, which initially put the car third, but turned out to be good enough to secure the second space on the front row.

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Both Peugeots showed speed, with the No. 94 of Malthe Jakobsen slotting in fourth with a best lap just 0.378s off pole. The No. 93 will start sixth behind the No. 20 WRT BMW thanks to Paul Di Resta’s efforts.

Elsewhere, the No. 6 Porsche was seventh fastest and the Le Mans-winning No. 83 Ferrari was the only 499P to claw its way into Hyperpole. A late flyer from Kubica allowed him to sneak in before he completed a 1m23.386s to go ninth in the second stage of qualifying.

The works cars, meanwhile, will start 14th (No. 50) and 17th (No. 51) after struggling for outright pace in the first stage.

“It was to be expected. Antonio (Fuoco) was on a good lap but caught a Porsche, and it messed up the quali. If you look at the Toyotas as well, they are struggling. To win the race, we will need a miracle; it’s going to be difficult to pass cars when starting at the back,” No. 50 Ferrari driver Nicklas Nielsen said.

Toyota’s No. 7 GR010 HYBRID also struggled to produce a quick time. Kamui Kobayashi ended up the slowest with a 1m24.153s. Ryo Hirakawa put the sister No. 8 car tenth.

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Local favourite Eduardo Barrichello delivered the goods in LMGT3. The Brazilian scored Racing Spirit of Leman its first ever WEC pole with a 1m33.849s in the category’s Hyperpole session aboard the team’s No. 10 Vantage AMR LMGT3.

“Such a special moment for me here. My family [is] here, my friends are here, and I’m so happy to be here,” Barrichello said, after WEC rookie Anthony McIntosh put the car into the top 10.

The pair of AKKODIS ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3s were fast in the shootout session, but neither Clemens Schmid nor Finn Gehrsitz could find a way to better Barrichello’s best time.

The pole margin was tiny, though, as Schmid was just 0.024s behind with its best lap in the No. 87 Lexus. Gehrsitz was only 0.1s off in the No. 78 on the new Goodyear Eagle hard tires.

Elsewhere, it was a successful afternoon for the Iron Lynx and United Autosports. Lin Hodenius put the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 on the second row in fourth. The two United McLarens looked strong and will start fifth and sixth.

Further down the order, the Iron Dames Porsche made it into Hyperpole for the first time this season. Rahel Frey followed up Celia Martin’s qualifying run to put the No. 85 Porsche seventh.

Both Corvettes made it in, too. The No. 33 Z06 LMGT3.R will line up ninth, behind the No. 88 Proton Mustang and ahead of TF Sport’s No. 81 Vette.

The top two cars in the championship standings will start outside the top 10, with the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari only managing 15th in qualifying, and the points-leading No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 13th after Ryan Hardwick missed the cut by 0.2s.

“We’re championship leaders and won the last race at Le Mans. We’re carrying a lot of success ballast. We’re really heavy and losing a lot of time, especially at the end of the lap, but it’s ok. The other contenders are at the back too,” Hardwick said.

It was also a tough qualifying for WRT’s BMW M4 GT3 Evos, which will line up 14th and 18th. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin also failed to make Hyperpole with Ian James putting the No. 27 Vantage 12th.

Sunday's race will start at 11:30 a.m. local time.

RESULTS (provisional, prior to No. 38 penalty)