Spa FP3: Estre tops the times for Porsche; LMGT3 category sees Malykhin fastest for Manthey PureRxcing
For the second consecutive session Porsche Penske leads the way as Kevin Estre proves fastest in final 60-minute session before qualifying this afternoon.
Below are the main headlines from the session.
Hypercar
The No.6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar sets a best lap of 2m04.125 to stay top of the timing sheets on a warm and sunny morning at Spa Francorchamps
Estre’s lap is 0.215s ahead of the James Calado driven No.51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar as British driver posts early quick lap
No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies place third as Mikkel Jensen claims a 2m04.357s lap in Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar he shares this weekend with Nico Mueller only
No.50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P takes fourth place as Antonio Fuoco sets best time despite it having to take a 5-minute stop/go penalty after Fuoco crossed the pit exit line in first laps of FP3
Local ace Dries Vanthoor takes the No.15 BMW M Hypercar to fifth place with a lap of 2m04.465 to head the first of the Toyotas, the No.7 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Kamui Kobayashi
No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry is seventh ahead of the No.35 Alpine Endurance Team car. Brendon Hartley and Charles Milesi set the times
In ninth position is the second BMW M Team WRT Hypercar, while the No.12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche completes the top ten
Oliver Rasmussen in No.38 Hertz Team Jota has wild ride at Blanchimont and severely damages the underside of the Porsche 963 Hypercar
Earl Bamber also has a gravelly incident at Les Combes in final minutes of the session but re-emerges to make it back to the pits
No.83 AF Corse Ferrari suffers trouble in FP3 as the Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman crewed Ferrari 499P has braking issues and is confined to the pits for majority of the session. But car enters track for final 15 minutes of session and ends up in 18th position on timing screens
LMGT3
Imola pole winner Aliaksandr Malykhin tops the times in the PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT R by setting a best lap of 2m20.947s
Malykhin beats the No.85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan that headed the times in LMGT3 for most of the session with Michelle Gatting posting an early session time of 2m21.219s in the pink Lamborghini Huracan
Gatting showed some strong promise for the Italian supercar design at Spa as she headed the No.82 TF Sport Corvette driven by Daniel Juncadella who posted a 2m21.594s lap
No.54 Vista AF Corse driven Thomas Flohr places fourth as the WEC stalwart turns in an encouraging 2m21.618s
No.91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R takes fifth as Yasser Shahin completes best lap of 2m21.642
Completing the top six is the No.60 iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan as Franck Perera peaks on a best tour of 2m21.711 to ensure the top six is covered by just 0.5s
First full course yellow is caused after Hiroshi Koizumi spins the No.82 TF Sport Corvette at Les Combes after 15-mins of session. Japanese driver is assisted back to pits and car eventually resumes running
A second FCY is briefly held to clear debris from track at Pouhon corner
Click HERE for session results
