Free Practice
Jules Gounon was quickest in Free Practice at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with his #2 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo ending the session 0.007s ahead of the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 of Loris Spinelli.
Gounon set a 1’59.893” halfway through the two-hour session, a mark he later lowered to 1’59.804”. Matteo Cairoli then proceeded to put the #63 Huracan second on the timesheets with a 1’59.894″, before Spinelli improved in the final 10 minutes to get within one hundredth of a second of Gounon’s effort.
Maro Engel was third fastest aboard the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER entry, which was repaired overnight after an accident in testing when Lucas Auer was behind the wheel. Gilles Magnus was fourth overall in the Gold Cup-leading #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi, whilst Loek Hartog was quickest in the Bronze Cup and fifth overall aboard Rutronik Racing’s #97 Porsche.
Laurin Heinrich was sixth in Schumacher CLRT’s #22 Porsche, ahead of the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG of Thomas Drouet and Franck Perera in the #163 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini.
Saintéloc Racing were also on top in the Silver Cup, with a 2’00.494” from new signing Kobe Pauwels putting them 19th overall.
The session was remarkably clean, with no major interruptions or incidents around the high-speed 27-turn layout. By far the biggest issues afflicted Walkenhorst Motorsport’s #35 Aston Martin Vantage, which had a fire in the pitlane as a result of a fuel issue which has plagued the car since it arrived in Saudi Arabia. Thankfully, no one was harmed, but the damage sustained ruled the Vantage out of running in Pre-Qualifying.
It’s been a difficult weekend so far for Walkenhorst, with the sister #36 entry withdrawn from the event after an accident for David Pun in Testing. Also withdrawn, before a wheel was turned, is the #11 Comtoyou Racing Vantage, eliminating John De Wilde from an outside shot of the Bronze Cup drivers’ title.
Pre-Qualifying
Jordan Pepper led a Lamborghini 1-2 in Pre-Qualifying, aboard his #163 GRT – Grasser Racing Team Huracan GT3 Evo2.
Pepper set a 1’59.846” with just under a quarter of the hour-long session to go, besting Loris Spinelli’s 1’59.884” in the similar #63 Iron Lynx entry. Pepper’s teammate Franck Perera had previously been even quicker, setting a 1’59.510”, but this was one of many lap times deleted for exceeding track limits.
Bastian Buus was third fastest, and the leading driver in the Bronze Cup, after setting a 1’59.895” early on aboard his #80 Lionspeed Porsche 911 GT3.R (992). AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors’ pair of Ferrari 296 GT3’s were fourth and fifth, ahead of Gilles Magnus in the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi, which was again fastest in the Gold Cup.
Tresor Attempto Racing Audi teammates Lorenzo Patrese and Ricardo Feller were seventh and eighth, ahead of the #85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini of Alberto Di Folco. The top ten was rounded out by Kobe Pauwels in the #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi, who again was quickest in the Silver Cup.
The #2 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG which topped Free Practice failed to set a time, after Fabian Schiller made contact with the wall on his out lap. Schiller was able to recover to the pits without the intervention of a Full Course Yellow or Red Flag, but the car didn’t reappear. This was the only notable incident in another clean session.
The next track action for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup field is Qualifying, which is set to begin at 11:45 AST tomorrow and can be viewed on the GT World YouTube channel >>
