Heat of Battle.
This session started where the last one left off under very strong sunshine and the pace was equally hot right from the green flag. In fact ‘equal’ would be a pretty damn good way to sum this session up.
Hartley was straight into the low 1:26s for Murphy Prototypes as was Thomas Holzer for Boutsen Ginion. Turvey’s name was on the screen too, just behind, so the rumours of his return to a real racing paddock were true. In fact within 8 laps (12 minutes) he had posted a 1:25.944 to go fastest in the session with the third fastest time all day.
Beche then took TDS quickest again with 20 minutes gone, on a 1:25.813 and Holzer then went only 4/100ths slower than the Swiss man, demoting Turvey.
Championship leader Thiriet took over the #1 Oreca of TDS and with half the session gone he went fastest with a 1:25.692. It was shortlived though because Turvey, showing his class having just leapt into the car after jumping off a plane, eclipsed that straightaway with a 1:25.583.
Thiriet, almost the man of the day, then put the first proper gap into the pack with a 1:25.098 but of course it didn’t last. Turvey bridged the gap again with a 1:25.346 and Hartley shuffled closer with a 1:25.603.
SMP Racing hadn’t made a great deal of progress between sessions, in fact they couldn’t match their Free Practice 1 pace until the closing stages.
But as for the other seven cars, well the final 10 minutes was something quite special. 1:24.898 was the benchmark just set by Thiriet but everyone seemed to be clamouring for it.
Panciatici took over the Signatech car and went fifth with his first flier on a 1:26.038, but then everyone else in the mid-pack of P2 was improving too. Mailleux was fourth and Niederhauser fifth, deposing the Alpine back to sixth.
But Niederhauser wasn’t done yet. A 1:25.184 moved his Race Performance Oreca Judd to third overall and he was setting fastest overall sectors at will. A 1:24.710 on his closing lap was a perfect way to the end the day (and make him man of the day), so it was Race Performance from TDS, Jota, Murphy, Boutsen Ginion, Morand and Alpine. And the gap covering ALL of that lot? 0.723 seconds. SMP Racing were 1.1 seconds further back, but that is probably not far off what they would have expected for this virgin outing.
In PC Ayari was out on track again and the rebuild of #48 had been a good one, a 1:29.845 showed he was still very much in the game. In fact #48 was top of the times for most of the session with a further-improved 1:29.420 and Loup-Chatin couldn’t, or wouldn’t, top it. Catsburg needed no invitation though. After Algarve Pro Racing Team (mate) Jones had the first 45 minutes of the session in #46, Catsburg took over and immediately reeled off an effortless 1:29.216 to see him at the fore again, but then he needed his 1:29.012 to stay ahead of #47. By the flag it was Verdonck who was just fastest on a 11:28.988, from Algarve, #49 and #48. And the gap covering that lot? 0.4 seconds.
In GTE Bachler impressed again, holding the lead over Jean Karl Vernay initially, but then they reversed. With 21 minutes to go only 0.406 seconds covered the top eight. With cars that close, it barely matters what order they happen to be in.
Mowlem was the first to try to break away from the virtual peloton with a 1:31.073. Like all the best sporting rivalries the response was instantaneous and it was of course Tandy setting the new benchmark with a 1:31.042. Bertolini was next up, 1:30.668, a similar leap to that we saw from the Dunlop-shod Ferrari 458 in Free Practice 1. Tandy got to within 3/100ths on his next lap. Bertolini bettered his time again with a 1:30.486 and Tandy’s response was 8/100ths down next time. A 1:30.818 from Mowlem after a quick stop (perhaps some new tyres?) began to make this look like a three way scrap, until you realised that only 8/10ths of a second still covered the top eight even after that spat.
GTE ended JMW #66, from Proton #77, RAM #52, AF Corse #55, Prospeed #75, IMSA #67, Proton #88, RAM #53. And the gap covering that lot? Still 0.798 seconds at the chequered flag. #54 was 1.5 seconds (not to mention four GTC cars) adrift but still, really quite staggering.
GTC resolved itself in the order #72 (1:31.940), #62, #60, #79 (only 0.370 seconds covering them) and #69 1.5 seconds further back.
Has there ever been a four class grid of a similar size as this that has led to as close a session anywhere…? If things remain even half as tight as this, then tomorrow should be very, very fascinating.
PS
