Malthe Jakobsen got the 2023 ELMS season off to a fast start today in Barcelona, setting the fastest time of the first practice session of the weekend.
The Dane’s time was a 1:29.811, in the LMP2 Pro/Am entered #37 COOL Racing 07 Gibson. It made him only the second driver to dip under 1:30 so far this week, the other driver being James Allen, who set a 1:29.691, the fastest time during the two day test in the #25 Algarve Pro ORECA.
The aforementioned #25 APR ORECA continued its fast start to the second by slotting in second, and first of the LMP2 runners. Allen again set the car’s best time, a 1:30.055. COOL Racing’s #47 LMP2 ORECA ended up third, with the #43 Inter Europol and #30 Duqueine examples completing the overall top five, all within seven-tenths of Jakobsen’s hot lap.
In the LMP3 class, it was the #8 Team Virage Ligier JS P320 that set the early pace, with Manuel Espirito Santo touring the Grand Prix circuit in 1:35.509, to go four tenths up on the rest of the field. The #17 COOL Racing Ligier ended up second, with the #31 Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier.
It wasn’t a good session for the pair of Duqueine M30 D08s in the field. The #4 DKR Engineering example ended up 10th, over three seconds off the pace, and the car from WTM Racing didn’t set a time.
GTE meanwhile saw the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche finish up top of the times, with a 1:40.306. Matteo Cairoli set the time, which proved to be just under a tenth quicker than the first of the two Ferrari 488s that completed the top three. Frederik Schandorff in the #57 Kessel 488 came closest, with a 1:40.571 by Matt Griffin good enough for third in the #55 Spirit of Race entry.
The three Aston Martins, run by TF Sport and GMB Motorsport, ended up at the bottom of the GTE classification. It’s clear that like in the FIA WEC, the teams and drivers are struggling to find the ultimate pace with the BoP the car has been dealt for this early stage of the season.
ELMS track action continues later today with the Bronze driver collective test at 16:20 local time.
Image courtesy of Elf
