FIA GT Championship

Kumpen goes fastest in first free practice!

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

The Proximus 24 Hours of Spa is now underway, with the first, ninety minutes free practice session taking place in dry, hot conditions. Today will see two free practice sessions and two night-qualifying sessions.

Belgium driver Anthony Kumpen, in the nr 4 GLPK Corvette C6R, started off at a very fast pace, setting the best time of the first free practice session in 2.17.863 after only a few laps. Like most of the competitors, Kumpen stayed out a long time on track, before giving the wheel to his teammates.
The session was quite close with three different makes in top five. Behind nr4 GLPK Corvette, nr33 Race Alliance Aston Martin driven by Christophe Bouchut set the second time, with a lap of 2.17.945, right at the end of the session . one of the best performances to date for this car. The nr 5 Phoenix Racing Aston Martin DBR9, driven by Andrea Piccini was third, with the nr 24 Aston Martin BMS Racing Aston Martin DBR9 nr24 was fourth. The two Maserati MC 12 cars entered by the the 2005 winning Vitaphone Racing Team, were 5th and 6th, with the number 1 behind the number 2. However, during this session, most of the team were concentrated on the car set-up more than the performance.

In GT2, the beginning of the session was led by the nr 58 AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2, before Tim Sugden, in the nr 55 JMB Racing Ferrari 430 GT2 nr55, set the fastest time with a lap of 2.23.999. Six Ferrari 430 GT2 were in the top six, with the Porsche 996 GT3 RSR nr75 was on 7th position.

In G2, both brand new Porsche 997 GT2 cars were in the lead. The nr 197 set the fastest time in 2.24.668, 14th overall, with the nr 111 second. In G3, the Prospeed Porsche was fastest.