After a dominant performance at the opening GT Open round at Estoril, Luzich Racing kicked off the Paul Ricard weekend in similar style, as their PRO-AM entered #71 Ferrari was steered to pole position by Michele Rugolo.
From the very beginning, Rugolo looked strong, setting the early pace with a 2:02.687 on his first flying lap, and improving fractionally next time by. Then, Alessandro Pier Guidi’s stand-in for this round, Marco Cioci, crossed the line for a 2:02.442 in the sister #51 Ferrari.
Rik Breukers looked fast in the early stages of the session, however, the driver of the #25 Imperiale Lamborghini struggled to stay on the timing sheets, with track limit violations forcing officials to delete several of his early laps.
With a third of the 30-minute session complete, Fabrizio Crestani (#27 Daiko Lazarus Lamborghini) split the Luzich Ferrari’s, setting a 2:02.571 to go second.
Ten minutes later, Breukers, who now had some times on the board, became the first driver to break the 2:02 barrier with a 2:01.990 – the #25 Imperiale Lamborghini was at the top of the timing sheet, but within 90 seconds, Breukers’ time was topped by Damiano Fioravanti in the #12 Ombra Racing Lamborghini, who crossed the line for a 2:01.932.
The Luzich Racing team was not going to let pole escape their team without a fight. Michele Rugolo found more time in the PRO-AM class #71 Ferrari, crossing the line for a 2:01.910.
As if to stamp his authority even further, Rugolo’s final flying lap was another improvement – a 2:01.897, which ultimately would not be beaten.
Damiano Fioravanti’s 2:01.932 was good enough to claim second on the grid and the PRO class pole for the #12 Ombra Lamborghini team, while Marco Cioci will head up the second row in the #51 Luzich Racing Ferrari, having improved to a 2:01.968 late in the session.
With Breukers in fourth thanks to his 2:01.990, the top four for race one at Paul Ricard is covered by less than a tenth!
Fran Rueda (#47 Teo Martin BMW) and Andrea Montermini (#11 RS Racing Ferrari) rounded out the top six on the grid, while Alexander Hrachowina (#74 HTP Motorsport/MS Racing Mercedes) will line up 16th at the head of the AM class.
This afternoon’s race will begin at 16:30 CET.
Photo courtesy of GT Open
