Yahoo Autos Porsche stays ahead in third Spa WEC practice
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 6 963 led the way in the final practice session for the FIA WEC teams at Spa, with Kevin Estre managing a 2m04.125s tour of the circuit in sunny conditions ahead of qualifying.
This time was marginally quicker than the 2m04.162s he set to go quickest in Free Practice 2, and was 0.2s up on the best time from Ferrari in this session. 2023 Le Mans winner James Calado was the Italian make’s fastest driver in the No. 51, with a 2m04.340s.
The No. 6 set the fastest Sector 1 and 2 times, while the Ferrari ended up quickest in Sector 3. Qualifying this afternoon is finely poised.
It was a better session from Peugeot in pace terms. The No. 93 9X8 slotted in third with a 2m04.357s from Mikkel Jensen. The No. 50 Ferrari ended up fourth, with the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 completing the top five.
In LMGT3, it was Manthey Pure Rxcing’s Porsche that topped the times, with Alex Malykhin’s 2m20.947s during a qualifying sim. Rahel Frey ended up improving on Sarah Bovy’s qualifying sim in the Iron Dames Lamborghini to go second with a 2m21.298s.
The third-fastest time was set by the No. 82 TF Sport Corvette. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari ended up fourth, with the Manthey EMA Porsche completing the top five.
There were a few of issues to report in the session, the first being the Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C stopping on pit lane at the start of the session, needing a refire. The second was an off into the gravel for the No. 82 TF Sport Corvette. Hiroshi Koizumi was aboard the Z06 LMGT3.R and ended up facing the wrong way at Les Combes and beached, bringing out an eight-minute full-course yellow period.
The No, 38 JOTA Porsche had the biggest moment, though, and suffered significant rear-right and front-end damage from a high-speed off for Oliver Rasmussen at Blanchimont. The Dane went off the circuit through the gravel and ended up getting air over the grass before taking a nose-dive. The car will require significant work before qualifying, and the JOTA mechanics were working on it by the end of the session after Rasmussen brought it back.
Moments later the Cadillac also had an off through the gravel. And finally, in pit lane, the No. 83 privately-entered Ferrari required attention to its front end for much of the session and only managed 10 laps.
