Laurin Heinrich was fastest in Pre Qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard aboard the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3.R (992), as the first day of running at the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season opener came to a close.
Heinrich initially went to the top with a 1:54.496 on his first flying lap of the session, but quickly improved to a 1:54.311 that no one else could match. The majority of the quickest times came at the start of the hour-long session, which transitioned from day to night.
Jules Gounon was second in the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed AMG GT3 Evo, after setting a 1:54.446 in the car, which led Free Practice earlier today. Patric Niederhauser was third in the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3.R (992), ahead of the Gold Cup-leading #333 Paul Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of Maximilian Paul.
Fifth overall was the #111 CSA Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, which has made a last-minute change of class for the weekend. After originally entering in Pro, Simon Gachet, James Kell and Arthur Rougier have moved to the Gold Cup.
Luca Engstler was sixth fastest in the #63 GRT – Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, ahead of the #911 Pure Rxcing Porsche of Thomas Preining and the #32 Team WRT BMW of Kelvin van der Linde.
Michele Beretta was fastest in the Silver Cup, and 10th overall after setting a 1:55.011 aboard VSR’s #60 Lamborghini.
The final car within a second of Heinrich’s time was the Bronze Cup-topping #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche in 17th overall, after a 1’55.275” from Loek Hartog.
Steller Motorsport backed up its strong Free Practice with another solid hour of running, as Matisse Lismont banked mileage aboard their #24 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The Belgian driver was the sole occupant of the Corvette during Pre Qualifying, with his fastest lap less than a second slower than the fastest time in Silver.
Kessel Racing’s #8 Ferrari 296 GT3 and Team RJN’s #23 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo completed the most laps of anyone, covering 28 each. This was one more than the #81 Winward Racing AMG GT3 Evo, whilst several teams, including session toppers Schumacher CLRT, managed 26.
The #26 Sainteloc Racing Audi, which ended the session 32nd overall, has had a late addition to its driver line-up, with Lucas Legeret joining Ivan Klymenko and Lorens Lecertua aboard the R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. This means all 59 cars will field three driver line-ups this weekend.
The session ran without any major interruptions. The biggest incident befell the #991 Paradine Competition M4 GT3 Evo, which missed almost half an hour of running after Sean Gelael hit the wall at Turn 2 early on.
Qualifying for the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup takes place tomorrow at 11:50 CEST, with the six-hour race following at 18:00 CEST. Both sessions can be viewed on the GTWorld YouTube channel.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
