Pepper Takes Valencia Pole in Red-Flag Shootout as Sprint Cup Title Fight Tightens
A late two-lap dash after a Turn 12 red flag delivered Jordan Pepper his first pole of 2025 and a bonus point that cuts his deficit to 2.5 points before this afternoon’s finale.
Overview
- Pepper clocked a 1:31.115 to top qualifying for Race 2 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, edging Aurelien Panis by 0.041 seconds.
- Thomas Neubauer’s spin in the AF Corse Ferrari triggered the red flag that compressed the Pro/Gold session into an effective two-lap shootout.
- Five entries remain in the overall title hunt, with Pepper joined by Marvin Kirchhöfer, Kelvin van der Linde, Sven Müller and the No. 48 Winward Mercedes-AMG.
- The No. 32 Team WRT BMW and Winward’s No. 48 share the points lead on 72, the No. 59 McLaren sits 1.5 back, Pepper’s No. 63 is 2.5 back after pole, and Rutronik’s No. 96 trails by 8.5.
- Class stakes tightened as Louis Prette took Gold Cup pole to cut the gap to 3.5 points, and Darren Leung secured Bronze Cup pole by 0.037 seconds over leader Dustin Blattner.