Nothing in it
0.002 seconds was all that separated the two main championship contenders at the end of the first hour-long practice session at Paul Ricard.
The slightest of advantages went to Signatech Alpine when the #36 Alpine Nissan was in the hands of Nelson Panciatici in the closing moments of the session with a 1:50.242, just edging Mathias Beche’s 1:50.244 in the #1 Thiriet by TDS Oreca 03 Nissan.
Morand Racing had a very promising showing straight out of the trailer and their Morgan Judd was quickest for most of the session, Natacha Gachnang in particular seemingly very comfortable here. They ended the session fourth with a 1:50.991, behind Brendon Hartley’s best of 1:50.959 for Murphy Prototypes and their Oreca 03 Nissan. Turvey’s best was only fifth fastest for Jota Sport but “we were trying a few different aero configurations and trying to see where we should be, it felt quite good so I know we can still improve a few things. Simon [Dolan] has some experience here so we’re hoping for another pole and will be trying to win but there is some strong competition out there.”
Alex Kapadia was sixth fastest in the Boutsen Ginion #4 Oreca 03 Nissan and took the first 40 minutes of the session, leaving Kuppens and Swift with some very brief sighting laps for them to build on in FP2. Kuppens was straight into the 1:54s so it seems he will be up to speed quickly.
In GTE Bertolini headed the times at the start at the end of the session for JMW with the #66 Dunlop shod Ferrari F458 Italia, closing with a 1:57.854. “It was good, but it always good for us until we have some problems. It is a shame this year because we have a really strong package with wit the team and the tyres and we have worked very hard with Dunlop. We are always in front but we are unlucky. Silverstone should have been an easy win because the Dunlop rain tyre is very good but we pitted just before they suspended the race. In Imola we had a misfire, in Austria a fuel pressure and brake problem and again at Budapest we were strong but the alternator belt broke when I released the pit limiter. I hope to finish this race with a strong position and give JMW a win, then we can look forward to next season.”
Mowlem and Griffin both went well in Ram Racing’s #52, the Irishman posting the second quickest time in class on the chequered flag (1:58.116) and confirming that the car had “a really good balance immediately, we are already comfortable enough in terms of race pace but have a couple of things we need to do. We need to keep it clean this weekend, not change much about what we usually do, but maybe give some of the kerbs a wider berth.”
Tandy had the #77 Proton Porsche in the same ball-park as the leaders, his best was a 1: 58.212 to finish third fastest, but unlike their championship rivals, Proton have to set a car up and strategise so as to deliver the best result possible for three drivers.
In GTC Villorba Corse did just what Easyrace did by showing straight away that if you bring a well set-up car to this series, you can be competitive straight away. Frenchman Steeve Hiesse may have a rather large hole in is GT racing CV since the early 2000’s as far as we can glean (when he raced the Autopalace Ferrari 360) but he in the first 15 minutes of the session he set a 1:58.702 that no-one in class would beat. His time is of course very close to the GTE cars despite the track being bone dry, so it must be sheer straight line speed that is the advantage here rather than the ABS which has given them an advantage in the tricky conditions we have had elsewhere.
It wasn’t such a good debut for the other newcomer. DKR Engineering carried out a series of out and in laps at the start of the session and with 15 minutes to go the car came to grief with left front damage at Turn 7, bringing out a yellow and then a red flag. The damage appears relatively minor to the left front suspension and they should be back out, but with limited running for Lecuyer so far and no seat-time for the other drivers, they will be playing catch-up all weekend.
Somewhere between these two were the real focus at the head of the championship: #69 and #62. #69 set a 1:59.565 against #62’s best of 2:00.282. Mika Salo set a 1:59.557 in SMP Racing’s #68 so should be able to play a part in trying to help #68 take the title. Peter Kox was second in class with a late 1:59.496. With a second car in the awning, rumours that it could be driven round to the start grid if the other one suffered the same fate as at Hungary were quickly quashed but we’ll try and find out if it is a statement of intent for a two car effort next season or destined for another series. Perhaps the revealing of the calendar (today or tomorrow) will still play a part in deciding the answer to that question.
The GTC cars won’t just be a self-contained side-show this weekend either, they could play a major role in determining the outcome of each of the titles. Oliver Turvey believes the circuit, with its long straight, could make the traffic a key part of the dynamics of this race. “I think it could be tough in traffic, the GT cars are faster than the prototypes on the straight so it is really hard for us to get past. We can’t do it down the straights because they are pulling away from us!”
In PC it remains advantage #49, by a clear 1.2 seconds so far. Gary Hirsch was delighted to be fighting for the championship in his home country “and it is so nice that is sunny! We have been working on the set-up of the car because we have a different chassis (the ex-Loan/Lecuyer car) for various reasons and each car feels a bit different. We want a comfortable and consistent car because the aim here is to not make mistakes. We want to push too though, and not just against [our LMPC rival] but also against the P2 cars, because if you want to do well, you have to show your pace.”
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