A brief overview of FP1,FP2 and FP3

FP1

Ferrari AF Corse place one-two in first track running at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, round three of FIA WEC.

Hypercar

·      Antonio Fuoco peaks with a best lap of 2m05.690s in No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P as he heads the sister No.51 machine which sets a best of 2m06.831s with Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel

·      The Lamborghini Iron Lynx SC63 Hypercar takes encouraging third place with a best time set by Daniil Kvyat on a 2m06.998

·      Fellow new WEC manufacturer for 2024 Alpine place fourth with the No.36 Alpine A424 Hypercar driven by Nicolas Lapierre achieving the lap time of 2m07.020s

·      No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P ends session in fifth place as Yifei Ye posts time of 2m07.087s. That time just shades the  quickest Porsche 963 of Proton Competition’s Neel Jani

·      Porsche Penske are seventh and eighth with the No.6 963 heading the No.5 car, as Frederic Makowiecki and Laurens Vanthoor set best times

·      Fastest Peugeot is ninth with Nico Mueller claiming best time in car he shares with just Mikkel Jensen as teammate this weekend as Stoffel Vandoorne is racing elsewhere

·      No.35 Alpine completes the top 10 with Paul-Loup Chatin setting the lap for Les Bleues

·      The fastest Toyota Hypercar is just 11th with the No.8 heading the No.20 BMW and the No.2 Cadillac

LMGT3

·      TF Sport top the times in the LMGT3 category as Daniel Juncadella turns a best lap of 2m20.885s in the yellow and black Corvette he shares with Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud

·      No.54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 is second in the hands of Davide Rigon who laps just 0.3s shy of Juncadella’s best effort

·      Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage sits third as Daniel Mancinelli sets quickest lap on a 2m21.387 best

·      Iron Dames start strongly after shaking off disappointing Imola race as Michelle Gatting claims fourth best time in Lamborghini Huracan

·      Fifth is the No.46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 as home hero Maxime Martin laps just 0.054s off Gatting’s fourth place time

·      Rounding out the top six is No.59 United Autosports McLaren making it six different manufacturers in the top six. Gregoire Saucy sets the best time but also causes a 5-minute stop/go penalty for crossing the pit lane entry white line.

FP2

Hypercar

• Kevin Estre hustles Porsche 963 Hypercar to a best lap of 2m04.162s and heads the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P by just 0.121s as Antonio Fuoco again is fastest for the Prancing Horse
• Cadillac Racing show improved pace as Alex Lynn peaks on a best lap of 2m04.341s in v-Series R Hypercar he shares with Earl Bamber
• Making it four different manufacturers in the top four positions is the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Hypercar as Imola hero Kamui Kobayashi sets a 2m04.883
• Hertz Team Jota are the second quickest Porsche as Callum IIott sets time in gold customer 963 Hypercar for the fifth best lap of session
• Proton competition Porsche is hot on Jota heels as Julien Andlauer sets best lap time to complete the top six
• Seventh sits the second of the Toyota Gazoo Racing entries as Brendon Hartley posts the fastest lap of the session in No.8 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar
• That time just shades the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari with Robert Kubica aboard the yellow 499P Hypercar in eight. Teammate Robert Shwartzman was on schedule to go in to the top three after setting purple sector on quick lap but was halted as a full course yellow was deployed
• Last year’s LMP2 race winner is just ahead of the No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar and the No.51 Ferrari AF Corse entries which complete the top ten

LMGT3

• The No.78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus causes a surprise in LMGT3 as Clemens Schmid peaks on a best lap of 2m21.257s set in the early stages of the session
• The super sub, who is replacing the ill Timur Boguslavskiy this weekend heads the No.85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan. Local favourite Sarah Bovy sets the time to ensure all-female crew continue strong preparation for Saturday’s race
• No.46 Team WRT BMW M4 places third with Valentino Rossi setting the fastest time in car he shares with Ahmed Al Harthy and  Maxime Martin

• FP1 pace setting TF Sport Corvette takes fourth place in hands of Sebastien Baud, while the second Akkodis ASP Lexus is fifth as Argentinian driver Esteban Masson sets fastest lap
• Sixth in LMGT3 is the No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 as Simon Mann sets time to ensure the top half dozen are covered by just 0.8s
• Darren Leung spins the No.31 Team WRT BMW in to the La Source gravel triggering the second of three brief full course yellow periods
• No.88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang, No.82 TF Sport Corvette and No.60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini receive 5-minute stop/go penalties for track limits infringements

FP3

Hypercar

The No.6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar sets a best lap of 2m04.125 to stay top of the timing sheets on a warm and sunny morning at Spa Francorchamps

Estre’s lap is 0.215s ahead of the James Calado driven No.51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar as British driver posts early quick lap

No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies place third as Mikkel Jensen claims a 2m04.357s lap in Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar he shares this weekend with Nico Mueller only

No.50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P takes fourth place as Antonio Fuoco sets best time despite it having to take a 5-minute stop/go penalty after Fuoco crossed the pit exit line in first laps of FP3

Local ace Dries Vanthoor takes the No.15 BMW M Hypercar to fifth place with a lap of 2m04.465 to head the first of the Toyotas, the No.7 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Kamui Kobayashi

No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry is seventh ahead of the No.35 Alpine Endurance Team car. Brendon Hartley and Charles Milesi set the times

In ninth position is the second BMW M Team WRT Hypercar, while the No.12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche completes the top ten

Oliver Rasmussen in No.38 Hertz Team Jota has wild ride at Blanchimont and severely damages the underside of the Porsche 963 Hypercar

Earl Bamber also has a gravelly incident at Les Combes in final minutes of the session but re-emerges to make it back to the pits

No.83 AF Corse Ferrari suffers trouble in FP3 as the Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman crewed Ferrari 499P has braking issues and is confined to the pits for majority of the session. But car enters track for final 15 minutes of session and ends up in 18th position on timing screens

LMGT3

Imola pole winner Aliaksandr Malykhin tops the times in the PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT R by setting a best lap of 2m20.947s

Malykhin beats the No.85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan that headed the times in LMGT3 for most of the session with Michelle Gatting posting an early session time of 2m21.219s in the pink Lamborghini Huracan

Gatting showed some strong promise for the Italian supercar design at Spa as she headed the No.82 TF Sport Corvette driven by Daniel Juncadella who posted a 2m21.594s lap

No.54 Vista AF Corse driven Thomas Flohr places fourth as the WEC stalwart turns in an encouraging 2m21.618s

No.91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R takes fifth as Yasser Shahin completes best lap of 2m21.642

Completing the top six is the No.60 iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan as Franck Perera peaks on a best tour of 2m21.711 to ensure the top six is covered by just 0.5s

First full course yellow is caused after Hiroshi Koizumi spins the No.82 TF Sport Corvette at Les Combes after 15-mins of session. Japanese driver is assisted back to pits and car eventually resumes running

A second FCY is briefly held to clear debris from track at Pouhon corner

Articles taken from WEC and by Rachel Cavers