Gianmaria Bruni ensured the AF Corse Ferrari team stayed at the top of the timesheets for the Spa 24 Hours ‘Pre-Qualifying’ session (essentially just a second free practice). The Italian works drivers wasted no time setting a 2:18.986 benchmark on his third flying lap that wouldn’t be bettered for the remaineder of the session. His time in the #47 car was just a few tenths off the 2014 pole-winning lap.
The Audis of Fassler, Vanthoor, Frijns and Thiim were soon staking their place in the overall top 10, the first real show of pace from Audi today. 2014 race winner Vanthoor ended the session second-quickest, over half a second slower than the Bruni Ferrari.
It was a strong session for the BMWs, with DTM man Bruno Spengler in the #9 ROAL car winding up third after a charging lap late in the session. Other Z4s filled positions fourth (Ecurie Ecosse), fifth (Marc VDS #46), eighth (Marc VDS #45) and ninth (TDS Racing).
Le Mans star Andre Lotterer put the #6 Phoenix new-generation Audi R8 sixth, with Stephane Richelmi seventh in the #3 WRT car, an old-shape example. Lotterer’s team-mate Fassler (an overall winner here in 2007) said: “The track hasn’t improved that much today, really, the grip is better, but that’s about it. We expect that the fastest times will be set at around 10pm tonight and that may well be a low 2:17/high 2:18. I think that because of the restrictor on the new R8, we’ll be in the high 2:18s, though.”
“The biggest thing for me, Rocky and André is the tyres. We’re just not used to the Pirellis, so it’s a concern. You need a totally different driving style compared to the Michelins that I normally use in the WEC.”
Alex Buncombe got Nissan into the top 10, recording a 2:20.101 in the #23 Pro Cup GT-R. It was a less successful session for the #73 MRS GT Nissan. With Martin Plowman at the wheel, the car was hit by a Bentley, suffering right-rear suspension damage that put paid to the team’s plans to give each of its drivers running time on new tyres ahead of qualifying proper.
There was also contact for the #19 Grasser Lamborghini, resulting in fairly extensive front-end damage:
Team Parker Audi was once again the team to beat in the Am Cup this session, with 2007 British Formula Ford champion Callum MacLeod getting the R8 into 39th overall.
The Leonard Motorsport Aston Martin held on to a top 20 position throughout this session, with on-loan factory driver Stefan Mucke commenting: “I’ve done a couple of laps so far and the car feels really good. I love this event. We’re aiming for Super Pole and I think that’s achievable. Realistically, I think we can get into the 2:19s, but the problem is that everyone else has moved on or got new cars, so we won’t be able to aim for pole position like in 2013.”
“We just want to be in the top 20, we’ll see how it goes from there. I did some testing with the Leonard guys last year at the Nürburgring, but this is my first full race meeting with them. They’ve been great so far, they’re a very professional team.”
In the only other Aston in the field, Oman Racing’s Ahmad Al-Harthy, Daniel Lloyd and Jonny Adam have been joined by Australian Jonathan Ventner, taking the car down to the Pro-Am class. “We’re chasing balance at the moment,” Adam told us during the session. “The bronze driver has to do a minimum of six hours, so having someone as quick and experienced as Jonathan in that seat is a big advantage.”
SE & SK
