The approaches to the village of Francorchamps in the Ardennes on Friday morning saw not atypical weather conditions for the region – fog, low cloud and the dampness associated with prolonged overnight rain. Happily, the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps was unaffected by the murk, which meant that the first of the two Free Practice sessions was able to begin on time at 09:00.
Just a couple of changes to the entry list had to be made. The AF Corse Ferrari of Filipe Barreiros and Francisco Guedes was a no-show, reducing the number of 458s in the Italian Team to four (actually, the car was there, but not the drivers), while Wolfgang Reip again accompanied Sir Chris Hoy in the RJN Nissan in place of Chris Buncombe.
With the track still damp in places, teams took the opportunity to try various rubber, meaning it was some time before ‘proper’ times started to appear on the timing screens. Matt Bell was an early leader in the #23 United Autosports Audi R8 LMS ultra on 2:22.994, but Joe Osborne went almost two-tenths quicker around the half-hour mark in the #88 Triple Eight BMW to set the bar at 2:22.811. The #21 Strata21 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 was third at this point, with a 2:23.817.
Gavan Kershaw headed the GT4 times in the #79 ISSY Racing Lotus Evora on 2:35.250 from Matt Draper in the #41 Optimum Ginetta G55 and the #44 Team Parker Racing Porsche of Dan Cammish.
The session was red-flagged at the 40 minutes mark after Jade Edwards backed the Optimum Ginetta into the tyres at Rivage, but damage appeared to be confined to the rear-left corner and the driver was okay so the stoppage was a short one.
Things started to heat up again with five minutes remaining as Alexander Sims took the #79 Scuderia Ecosse BMW Z4 GT3 to the top of the times on 2:21.826, and Phil Keen went second in the #63 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 R on 2:22.062. There was improvement also for the #29 AF Corse Ferrari 458 of Richard Lyons and the #28 Horse Power Racing Aston on Andy Schulz, which went fifth and sixth. Lyons then improved again to third with a 2:22.691, before a second red flag ended the session 90 seconds prematurely.
The reason for the second stoppage was an off for Phil Keen at Les Combes after a tyre delaminated. The Porsche suffered damage at front and rear, but the driver was okay.
The second session began just 50 minutes later, with the ‘Am’ drivers in the majority out first on the mainly dry track. When the Pros began to take over, it wasn’t long before Toni Vilander began to make his presence known; the Finn taking the #15 AF 458 to the top of the screens on 2:22.709. Bell was again on the pace and posted a second-quickest 2:22.831 in the #23 Audi after 30 minutes, but was pushed down to third five minutes later by local boy Reip in the Nissan with a lap of 2:22.802. Aaron Scott was fourth quickest in the #13 AF Corse 458.
The Twisted Team Parker Ginetta G55 was quickest in GT4 after a 2:36.473 from Bradley Ellis, but the Beechdean Aston Martin of Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings was a close second. The lotus had languished at the bottom of the times for most of the session so far, but was now getting quicker and lay third on 2:36.569.
The third stoppage of the morning occurred with 20 minutes of the session remaining, when the #41 Optimum Ginetta again found the tyrewall; this time at Eau Rouge. Again, it wasn’t a lengthy pause and 11 minutes remained on the clock when the session went green again. Things weren’t looking good for the Ginetta, though, with chassis damage suspected.
It was Tom Onslow-Cole who made the most of the final moments, taking the Strata21 to second with a 2:22.779 with five minutes to go. Richard Abra went fifth in the #38 MP Motorsport Aston, while the two Oman Racing Vantages went sixth and seventh – Michael Caine ahead of Rory Butcher. Richard Lyons then pushed all three Astons down a place as he went fifth in the #29 Ferrari with a minute on the clock.
Aside from the Optimum Ginetta, things hadn’t gone too smoothly for several other cars that morning either. The #3 Rosso Verde Ferrari barely got going before a gearbox issue stopped it in its tracks. A particular part was required that wasn’t to be found in the team’s spares box, nor in those of AF Corse or FF Corse. Two cars down already?
The brace of Bentley Continentals were languishing near the bottom of the times after receiving a boost restriction in the latest BoP adjustments – a 2:24.717 the fastest time of either car so far – while the #888 Triple Eight BMW was struggling with a handling issue.
Next up would be the two qualifying sessions, beginning at 15:50.
MH
