Cairoli Fastest in Opening Paul Ricard Practice

Photo: MPS Agency

Matteo Cairoli comfortably led the opening Free Practice session for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, the second round of the European Le Mans Series season.

The Italian lapped Circuit Paul Ricard in a time of 1:49.096, putting the No. 9 Iron Lynx-Proton Oreca 07 Gibson 0.887 seconds clear of the No. 10 Vector Sport-entered example driven by Pietro Fittipaldi.

Luca Ghiotto took third for Inter Europol Competition, ahead of Esteban Masson’s No. 48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca.

Nick Yelloly rounded out the top five aboard the No. 43 Inter Europol Oreca, leading fellow Acura GTP driver Tom Blomqvist by just 0.005 seconds.

LMP2 Pro-Am was led by the No. 3 DKR Engineering Oreca of Laurents Hoerr as the German reeled off a time of 1:50.437, good for seventh overall.

LMP3 running was dominated by Ligier runners, with the first six cars in the class representing the French manufacturer.

Adrien Closmenil went quickest at the wheel of the No. 17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 Toyota, as his 1:58.701 was 0.116 seconds faster than the best effort from second-placed Rik Koen in the No. 8 Team Virage Ligier.

Ferrari, meanwhile, locked out the top three in the LMGT3 class, led by the No. 51 AF Corse 296 GT3 driven by Davide Rigon.

Rigon’s best time of 2:03.716 was 0.028 seconds faster than the No. 50 sister car driven by Riccardo Agostini, while Riccardo Pera took third for GR Racing.

Alessio Picariello was the fastest non-Ferrari driver, taking fourth aboard the No. 60 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that has seen a late driver change.

Team principal Christian Ried has been inserted as the mandatory Bronze-rated driver to drive alongside Picariello and Matteo Cressoni, turning his first laps of the weekend during the 90-minute practice session.

Ried replaces Claudio Schiavoni for the full remainder of the weekend, with a team spokesperson confirming to Sportscar365 that the Italian has been sidelined with a physical issue.

It will be Ried’s first ELMS appearance since the 2023 season finale at Portimao, where he finished second. The German is a two-time series champion, with his first title in 2020 notably coming alongside Picariello.

The Friday morning session was interrupted by a single red flag, which was caused by Algarve Pro Racing’s Kriton Lentoudis.

The second Free Practice session for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet is scheduled for Saturday at 10:10 a.m. CEST (4:10 a.m. EST).

RESULTS: Free Practice 1