Thursday afternoon’s FP3 gave the field one last chance for longer stint runs during daytime hours, while also allowing the eight Hyperpole-bound cars from each class a chance to get their eye in ahead of Hyperpole this evening.
The expected pace ahead of Hyperpole never really eventuated, with the top time – a 3:27.283 from Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P – three-tenths slower than the top time achieved at the Test Day on Sunday.
Broadly, the teams were focused on completing longer runs, with a number of the big players encountering problems late on in the session preventing them from performing a Hyperpole rehearsal.
Fuoco’s lap came right at the end of the session, eclipsing the #6 Penske Porsche of Kevin Estre by a tenth of a second, who had done his fast lap with 38 minutes remaining. Dries Vanthoor in the #15 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 also managed a late improvement, slotting in third.
Behind Vanthoor, it was the #3 Cadillac VSeries.R of Sebastian Bourdais with a 3:27.471, ahead of the #7 Toyota GR101 of Kamui Kobayashi, three-tenths behind. The #35 Alpine was 13th, ahead of the team’s run in Hyperpole later today.
Of note, there were significantly concerned faces in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P garage with about 30 minutes left in the session, as the car came into the garage with electrical issues. The car was reportedly cutting in and out, and the team were changing sensors to try and rectify the issue. The #51 was able to get out on track for an installation lap, but did not complete any fast times late on.
The #11 Isotta Fraschini Tipo-6C also lost valuable track time after spending the first half of the session diagnosing and fixing a brake system issue. In all the car completed 29 laps.
In LMP2, it was Matthias Beche and Panis Racing that topped the time sheets with the #65 on top at the conclusion, despite an off for Huffaker late in the session at Indianapolis. Beche’s 3:37.217, set with almost an hour remaining, was almost 3 seconds slower than what was achieved on the Test Day.
Behind Beche was Frederic Vesti in the #47 Cool Racing car, then Louis Deletraz in the #14 AO by TF car.
Nico Varrone put the #183 AF Corse car into fourth – making it four Pro/Am runners in the top four – while Patrick Pilet put the #10 Vector Sport car into fifth in class, and the fastest LMP2 runner.
In LMGT3, although drivers throughout the classes reported a reduction in track surface grip, Gregoire Saucy’s first flying lap was a 3:57.558 in United Autosport’s #59 McLaren LMGT3 Evo to head the class.
Halfway into the session however, having taken over the Black and Papaya McLaren, James Cottingham found the grass on approach to Tertre Rouge, rotating the car backwards into the barrier and bringing out the red flag. The car was recovered to its pit with rear bodywork damage but no obvious engineering impact.
This incident was soon followed by Frederik Schandorff’s #70 Inception Racing McLaren pulling up on driver’s left at the exit of Mulsanne Corner, the car bogging down under acceleration out of the hairpin. Just out of its pit, the #70 car had spent significant time changing a rear wheel sensor.
Franck Perera continued to impress, second fastest in the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini, a 3:57.564 just beating Daniel Serra’s flying pace in the #86 GR Racing Ferrari, the Brazilian’s 3:57.686 placing the orange and black 296 LMGT3 best of the Ferraris in third, having cured the engine issues that took it out of play yesterday.
Fourth place in the session would go to D’Station Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage, Marco Sorensen’s best a 3:57.721. United Autosport’s #95 McLaren would round off the top five, 3:56.615 posted by Marino Sato late in the session. The #77 Ford Mustang that had led last night’s qualifying session spent time out addressing a suspension issue, but Zacharie Robichon’s 3:58.781 resumed form, sixth fastest.
Alessio Rovera raised Ferrari’s LMGT3 presence, a 3:58.930 improving the #54 Vista AF Corse car’s pace considerably. Continuing a trend for the Prancing Horse, the most visible Ferrari improvement came from the #155 Spirit of Race 296 LMGT3. Having sat out a chunk of the session with a right front mechanical issue, Jordan Taylor’s first run hauled the car from nowhere to just inside the top ten; 3:59.112.
Both Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RCFs continued to show well, Jack Hawksworth briefly posting a fastest lap of 3:58.951 as the session commenced; the #87 Car Guy sponsored entry he shares with Esteban Masson and Takeshi Kimura leads steady progress for the pair at the marque’s first LM24, both cars inside the top ten times and running without drama.
