Earlier on in the Hypercar qualifying session, that kind of result had looked far less likely, when the 22-year-old Dane spun at high speed on his ‘out’ lap from the pits, fortunately avoiding any impact but obliging him to return to the box for a fresh set of tyres.

Atoning for his error, Jakobsen subsequently soared to the top of the timesheets in the ten-minute Hyperpole shootout behind the wheel of the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar that he shares with fellow young gun Théo Pourchaire and former FIA World Endurance Champion, Loïc Duval.

The result represented the first pole for ‘The Lions’ in any international endurance racing series in 15 years and first in world championship competition since 1992.

“It’s the best feeling to drive this track on low fuel and new tyres, and I’m very happy for the team,” enthused Jakobsen, after pipping Cadillac’s Will Stevens to the prime spot by a scant 0.043 seconds. “This is a great boost for everybody in terms of motivation to keep working hard. It really shows that even though we’ve had a challenging past couple of years, everything is possible and you should never, ever give up.”

At the other end of the order, Imola winner Toyota struggled for speed in 12th and 16th positions in the 17-strong Hypercar field, with only one of defending world champion Ferrari’s 499P prototypes advancing to the top ten as Antonio Fuoco bagged eighth on the grid.

In LMGT3, Akkodis ASP Team’s Lexus RC F achieved its third FIA WEC pole 12 months on from its first, in the hands of impressive rookie racer, Hadrien David.

The TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – round two of the 2026 campaign – will get underway at 14:00 CEST tomorrow (Saturday, 9 May).