BMW Team Brasil topped the times in an incident packed first practice session to kick off the weekend at Brands Hatch, with Sergio Jimenez in the #0 BMW Z4 posting a time of 1:25.528.
The biggest talking point however, was a sizeable incident involving the #84 HTP Bentley of Max Buhk that ended the session prematurely. Buhk ran wide at Paddock Hill and was pitched into the tyre barriers on the inside after hitting the gravel trap. He emerged from the car unscathed, the car though had sustained heavy damage to the front-end following the impact. It remains to be seen whether the it will return to the circuit this weekend; it could prove very damaging to their championship chances.
HTP’s sister car also had a tough start to the weekend after Olivier Lombard went off into the gravel at Westfield after just one lap, causing a Full Course Yellow. The car wasn’t damaged, but it wasn’t able to continue in the session.
Another notable incident involved Anders Fjordbach, who like Buhk, had an off at Paddock Hill Bend in the #74 ISR Audi. The Dane found himself beached in the gravel however, causing the first of the two red flags just 20 minutes into the session. There was no visible damage, but it too lost a considerable amount of running time as a result.
Second fastest in the hour-long session was Laurens Vanthoor’s #1 WRT Audi who was less than a tenth off Jimenez after the Belgian ace managed a time of 1:25.619. A further tenth back was Sean Walkinshaw in the #73 MRS Nissan GT-R, ending up third.
Quickest in the Pro-Am category was the Triple Eight BMW Z4 which is making a one-off appearance this weekend. Joe Osborne’s lap of 1:26.627 was good enough to top the screens for a short time, before being bettered during the final half hour and finishing up seventh in the times.
“We are here for some track time before the British GT round later this year,” said Osborne, who is as usual partnered with Lee Mowle this weekend. “There’s not much track time on the GP loop because of noise restrictions, so it’s important for us to get as much running as we can. We want to show the guys what it would be like if we were in this regularly too!
“It’s my favourite circuit, so it’s great that the Blancpain Sprint comes over here to see the best track Britain has to offer.”
Stephen Kilbey
