Fuoco leads first Spa WEC practice for Ferrari

Antonio Fuoco set the fastest lap of the first FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa practice session in the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. The Italian’s time was a 2m02.835s, which was two tenths faster than the sister No. 83 AF Corse 499P shared by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson (2m03.057s).

The No. 36 Alpine Endurance Team A424 driven by Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki, Mick Schumacher ended up third, three tenths behind the fastest Hypercar (2m03.094s). The top five was completed by the No. 93 and No. 94 Peugeot 9X8s, which set times two and five tenths off the fastest Alpine.

The Hypercar championship-leading No. 51 Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi finished in eighth position with a 2m04.149s as the teams began to get to grips with the resurfaced areas of the track with the Michelin soft and medium compounds.

Further down the order, the No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 driven by Paul-Loup Chatin and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 38 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V Series R stopped on track at Les Combes for the former and at Fagne for the latter. Both incidents led to lengthy full course yellows, with Chatin’s error leading to a nose change for the No. 35 car.

In LMGT3, Finn Gehrsitz set the session’s fastest lap in the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 very early on, a 2m18.432s. He topped the LMGT3 time by a tenth quicker over Francois Heriau in the No. 21 Vista AF Corse – Ferrari 296 LMGT3 (2m18.528s), which was two tenths faster than the sister Lexus, the No. 87 shared by Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid and Jose Maria Lopez (2m18.619s)

The top five was completed by the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 (2m18.969s) and the No. 10 Racing Spirit of Leman – Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3.

The LMGT3 championship-leading No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which is carrying 36 kilos of success ballast this weekend, occupied 16th with a 2m21.056s.

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