United Autosports’ #21 LMP2 Pro/Am-entered ORECA 07 Gibson ran fastest on the second day of the official ELMS test in Barcelona ahead of the season opener on Sunday. Marino Sato reeled off the hot lap for the Anglo-American team, a 1:29.319 in the morning running to go almost half a second clear of the other drivers in LMP2 machinery during the day.
The Japanese racer’s time wasn’t quite quick enough to eclipse Luca Ghiotto’s 1:28.808 on Monday afternoon, though, meaning Inter Europol Competition heads into the race weekend proper with the fastest tour of the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
The quickest of the LMP2 category cars during Tuesday’s action was the #24 ORECA from Nielsen Racing, after Filipe Albuquerque set a 1:29.777 in the morning. The top three in combined rankings on day two was the #48 VDS Panis Racing 07, with a 1:29.882 from Alpine Hypercar driver Charles Milesi in the afternoon.
In LMP3, the post-lunch session produced the quickest time, with the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 completing a 1:37.180 from Adrien Closmenil. The #8 Virage Ligier was next, followed by the WTM by Rinaldi Duqueine, which enjoyed a more productive outing after two incidents on the opening day. The D09’s fastest time after 122 laps today was a 1:37.773.
The Ginetta G61-LT-P325 EVO from DKR Engineering showed more pace, though it was limited to just 32 laps across the day after suffering electrical issues. After setting a best time of 1:39.813 on Monday, Wyatt Brichacek dipped into the 1:38s with a 1:38.690 before lunchtime.
Across the board, while there were plenty of niggles here and there, no team heads into the race weekend with major drama in the new-look twin-turbo-powered category. The best time over the 16.5 hours of track time was a 1:36.827 from Quentin Antonel driving M Racing’s Ligier.
LMGT3 saw former Finali Mondiali winner Tom Fleming put GR Racing atop the times. The Briton’s 1:41.273 led the way in the morning, before Kessel Racing’s Ferrari ran fastest with a 1:41.5 in the afternoon.
However, it was United and McLaren that posted the best time across the test, with Wayne Boyd reeling off a 1:40.870 on day one.
There were a handful of incidents to report during the running across the day. Nielsen’s #27 ORECA ended up stranded at Turn 5 – thankfully with no damage in the opening session. Lorcan Hanafin then put the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG in the gravel during the afternoon, which was believed to have been caused by a loose wheel. The #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari was also spotted being pushed down pit lane.
Tomorrow is Le Mans Cup Prologue day in Spain. ELMS action resumes on Friday with Free Practice.
