Panis Racing’s #65 ORECA 07 Gibson set the pace in the Morning Session to open Day 2 of the 2024 ELMS Prologue at Barcelona.
The car’s 1:28.254 with Arthur Leclerc behind the wheel was the fastest lap of the week so far, bettering Marino Sato’s 1:28.979 in the first season.
Leclerc’s lap was also three-tenths faster than the #23 United Autosports ORECA that ended up second and seven-tenths up on IDEC Sport’s example that slotted in third.
The quickest car in LMP2 Pro/Am set the fourth fastest time, a 1:28.960 from Laurents Hörr in DKR Engineering’s ORECA.
However looking beyond the fast times in LMP2, the major headline from the morning’s action was the withdrawal of TF Sport’s #97 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from the remainder of the Prologue.
Martin Berry had an off into the barriers at the end of the lap at high speed, severely damaging the front of the car, and bringing out red flags.
The best news is that Berry is ‘ok’ after the impact.
At the time of writing the TF Sport crew was still assessing the damage and sourcing spares, which are currently in short supply for teams competing with the brand new Vantage.
While there is no word on whether or not the #97 will be ready to race this weekend, the team has confirmed to DSC that it will take no further part in the test.
LMP3 meanwhile saw the #15 RLR M Sport Ligier set the pace with a 1:35.509 courtesy of teen ELMS Rookie Gaël Julien. The #17 COOL Racing JS P320 came closest with a 1:35.751.
Further down the order, Ultimate’s Ligier made it back out and set the eighth fastest time after its lengthy rebuild following its Day 1 incident.
LMGT3 ended up as a Ferrari 1-2 with the GR Racing 296 finishing the run at the top of the screens after a 1:41.078 from Davide Rigon. The #55 from Spirit of Race was second fastest, with the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan the best of the rest with a time three-tenths off.
Beyond the red flag, there were a couple of other minor incidents during the four hours of track time, including offs into the gravel for the #5 RLR Ligier and #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari separately at Turn 5, bringing out Full-Course Yellows. Both cars continued unscathed.
Track action continues at 14:00 local time with the three-hour Afternoon Session, the final test of the Prologue.
