Ferrari tops both practice sessions, times promise strong results

Run on Wednesday evening and in the early morning hours on Thursday, the practice sessions for the Road to Le Mans have highlighted both the pace of the Ferrari 488 GT3 and the depth of the eight Ferrari entered in the fifty car field.

Practice 1. Luzich Racing drivers Mikkel Mac and Fabien Lavergne teamed up to claim the top GT3 time of the opening Road to Le Mans practice session, earning a 3:58.083 around the Circuit de la Sarthe, a staggeringly impressive time as it was nearly three seconds faster than the nearest GT3 competitor.  Kessel Racing’s no. 82 entry of Pierre Mulacek and Pierre Kaffer were the second fastest Ferrari and the third fastest GT3 car, with a 4:01.849.  Kessel took the next spot as well with their no. 8 entry, starring the Italian combination of Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini.  The Spirit of Race no. 51 entry comes next with Christoph Ulrich and Maurizio Mediani behind the wheel in 25^th overall and the 8^th fastest GT3 car.  Spirit of Race no. 53 (Kriton Lentoudis, Rui Aguas) beat out the Kessel Racing no. 50 entry (John Hartshorne and Oliver Hancock) by eight tenths of a second.  Rounding out the eight Ferraris in the field were Kessel Racing’s no. 62 entry (Philippe Mulacek and Anthony Lazzaro) and Spirit of Race’s no. 52 entry (Francesco Piovanetti and Oswaldo Negri Jr.) who finished 37^th and 39^th overall respectively.

Practice 2.  Ferrari once again topped the GT3 timings, but this time by much finer margins in practice 2, with Kessel Racing no. 8 entry (Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini) with a 4:09.140, besting all other GT3 cars by just over a tenth of a second.  Spirit of Race represented the second best Ferrari in the field, and the fourth fastest GT3 car in this session with its No. 52 car (Francesco Piovanetti and Oswaldo Negri Jr.) with a time of 4:10.265, just ahead of Kessel Racing’s no. 82 entry (Pierre Mulacek and Pierre Kaffer) who finished with a 4:10.357.  Further back, Spirit of Race no. 51 car (Christoph Ulrich and Maurizio Mediani) finished with a 4:20.644 and Luzich Racing’s no. 71, who had lead Practice 1, finished in 28^th overall with a 4:23.545.  The Ferrari contingent was completed by Kessel Racing’s no. 50 entry which lapped in a 4:25.864, Kessel’s no. 62 entry (4:28.903) and Spirit of Race no. 53 entry with a 4:32.799.