Here I am back on the Paul Ricard circuit, after the prologue, for the 1000 Km.
The race will take place on Saturday evening, with a start at 6:00 p.m. and midnight.
Bronze Test
Chris Lulham dominated the Bronze Test at Circuit Paul Ricard in the Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin.
The British driver set a time of 1:54.151 in the #33 Aston Martin, 1.3 seconds ahead of his compatriot Darren Leung (BMW #991 Paradine Competition).
Dustin Blatter (Ferrari #74 Kessel Racing) finished third.
The session was interrupted almost immediately after it began due to a fire in the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Fortunately, the driver was able to escape unharmed.
Free Practice
Fabian Schiller (Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #17) set a time of 1:54.083 at the start of the session.
He finished 0.024s ahead of Matteo Cairoli (Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER #48). McLaren Garage 59 was third with Joseph Loake (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO #59).
First Gold and 4th overall, Louis Prette (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO - Garage 59 - #58)
First Silver and 5th overall, David Schumacher (Ford Mustang GT3 - HRT Ford Performance - #64)
First Bronze and 6th overall, Tom Fleming (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO - Garage 59 - #188)
Pre-Qualifying
The #22 Porsche - Schumacher CLRT, driven by Laurin Heinrich, set a time of 1:54.311, opening a gap of 0.135 to the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, with Jules Gounon edging out Sven Müller (Porsche #96 Rutronik Racing) by 0.040.
The Gold Cup class winner went to the #333 Paul Motorsport Lamborghini driven by Maximilian Paul.
The Silver Cup was won by the #60 VSR Lamborghini thanks to a time of 1:55.011s set by the experienced Michele Beretta.
The Bronze Cup was dominated by the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche, driven by Loek Hartog.
Qualifying
With an average lap of 1:53.712, the #48 Mercedes-AMG Mann-Filter team started from pole position with Lucas Auer, Matteo Cairoli, and Maro Engel at the wheel.
Mercedes completed a one-two finish with the #17 GetSpeed Team car finishing 0.123s off the pole.
Two Porsches shared the third row. The French #22 Schumacher CLRT team edged the #96 Rutronik Racing car by just 0.015s.
The battle for pole in the Gold Cup class was won by the #58 Garage 59 crew of Adam Smalley, Dean MacDonald, and Louis Prette.
McLaren completed a one-two finish in the class with the #111 CSA Racing car and the #23 Team RJN car finishing second and third respectively.
Garage 59 also secured pole in the Bronze Cup with its #188 McLaren, of Miguel Ramos, Guilherme Oliveira and Thomas Fleming.
Michele Beretta, Alessio Deledda and Finlay Hutchison Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2 #60 - VSR will dominate the Silver Cup.
The Race
The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO - WRT of the van der Linde/Weerts/De Wilde crew, ninth on the grid, took a resounding victory in the six-hour race at Circuit Paul Ricard.
They won by 4.3 seconds over the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche.
The podium was completed by another Porsche, the #22 Schumacher CLRT.
The French team's #111 CSA Racing McLaren not only achieved an excellent overall result, finishing 7th, but also won the Gold Cup thanks to its crew of Simon Gachet, Arthur Rougier, and James Kell, ahead of Verstappen.com Racing and its #33 Aston Martin.
AlManar Racing by WRT's #777 BMW finished 3rd.
The Silver Cup winner, the #992 Paradine Competition BMW, overtook the #60 VSR Lamborghini shortly before the final hour of the race.
Sainteloc Racing placed its #26 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II on the lower step of the podium.
Kessel Racing won the Bronze Cup with its #74 Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Dustin Blattner, Conrad Laursen and Dennis Marschall. It finished just 2.7 seconds ahead of the #991 Paradine Competition BMW, while the #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari finished third.
The race was wise and reliable with 55 cars classified and only four official retirements.
Based on GTWCE press report.