28.04.2023 - 11h00
Spa FP3: No.7 Toyota Tops Hypercar Times in FP3; No. 31 WRT Fastest in LMP2; LMGTE sees Iron Lynx Porsche Fastest
Below are the main headlines from the final free practice session at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Hypercar
- First damp session of the weekend sees the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry fastest as last ditch lap of 2m08.702s by Kamui Kobayashi on drying track is good enough for P1.
- Track gets ever quicker as the sun dries the damp track despite intermittent showers during the 60-minute session.
- Antonio Giovinazzi sets the initial pace with a 2m14.305s lap but then Alessandro Pier Guidi beats that with a 2m14.102s. No.51 car ends session P10 in Hypercar.
- Second in Hypercar is the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R entry driven by Earl Bamber. He laps 0.7s off Kobayashi's best.
- Huge boost for the Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 as Will Stevens laps in a 2:10.434s to place sensational third.
- Fourth is the No.8 Toyota GR010 as Ryo Hirakawa claims time.
- No.3 Cadillac completes strong session for American manufacturer as veteran Sebastien Bourdais posts lap in final moments for fifth position.
- No.50 eventually knocked down to sixth in final minutes and sits just ahead of the Glickenhaus Racing 007 Hypercar as Romain Dumas briefly sets fastest lap before being bettered in final action-packed moments.
- Second fastest Porsche 963 Hypercar is the No.5 car which leads the sister No.6 machine in eighth and ninth.
- No.51 Ferrari AF Corse completes top ten after earlier starring role in wet conditions.
- No.94 Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar heads similar No.94 car as Lions place 11 th and 12 th .
- Floyd Vanwall is final Hypercar classified as team has session disrupted from FP2 hangover penalty and Esteban Guerrieri spinning and struggling to re-join after excursion at La Source.
FP3 has started in Spa, and it has been declared a wet session!
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) April 28, 2023
Watch it live on Youtube: https://t.co/1Sl3Cckc6D #WEC #6HSpa pic.twitter.com/KH4tyaTyif
LMP2
- Team WRT top times on home ground again as No.31 driven by Ferdinand Habsburg takes third place overall in session too.
- Dynamic 2m10.268s lap by Austrian ace beats the Vector Sport Oreca-Gibson by almost a second.
- Gabriel Aubry stars again for British team which is aiming to bounce back from tough Portimao race.
- United Autosports Oreca-Gibsons are third and fourth as the No.22 just outpaces the No.23 entry.
Practice sessions complete
— WRT - W Racing Team (@followWRT) April 28, 2023
Not only did we top the LMP2 timesheets once again, Ferdi placed #31 in third overall, after a quick switch to slicks as it started to dry around the Ardennes
Now our crew has five hours to perfect set ups before qualifying ! #WRT #WEC #6HSpa pic.twitter.com/T5OQ1M1aaE
LMGTE Am
- Iron Lynx top the times as local driver Alessio Picariello laps in a 2m28.387s.
- D'Station Aston Martin places second as Casper Stevenson sets lap of 2m29.588s.
- Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo places third goal causes full course yellow after Lilou Wadoux spins at Speakers Corner.
- Wadoux is pulled from the gravel but car's program is delayed with damage to rear of the car.
- Kessel Racing fourth as Daniel Serra again takes best lap but D'Station Aston Martin breaks up Prancing Horse party.
- No.54 AF Corse Ferrari is repaired and returns to action during session after dramatic FP2 accident at Eau Rouge.
Find full results HERE