The no37 Cool Racing Oreca-Gibson was the quickest car of the 36 runners on the first day of the two-day official ELMS pre-season test at Le Castellet. The teams were able to take part in ten hours of running in three sessions, with blue skies and warm temperatures during the day.
In the opening 4-hour session it was the no 21 DragonSpeed Oreca that headed the time sheets with Ben Hanley setting the best time of 1m40.889, just 0.247s faster than Nico Lapierre in the no37 Cool Racing Oreca.In the second session it was Lapierre’s who turned the tables on his rivals, improving his time by nearly 1.7 seconds with a 1m39.475, 0.355s ahead of Phil Hanson’s no22 United Autosports Oreca and a further seven hundredths ahead of the no26 G-Drive Racing Aurus, with 2019 LMP3 Champion Mikkel Jensen setting the best time of 1m39.907.Reigning LMP2 champions Idec Sport were the fourth car to dip under 1 minute 40 seconds with Richard Bradley posting a 1m39.935 lap.
In the two hour evening session only seven of the LMP2 cars went out on track and while Lapierre’s time wasn’t bettered, Tristan Gommendy took the second fastest time of the day with a 1m39.559 lap in the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca and Anders Fjordbach went third quickest with a 1m39.624 in the no20 High Class Racing Oreca-Gibson.
In LMP3 the no2 United Autosports Ligier headed the timing screens in the morning and afternoon sessions.Wayne Boyd set the best time in the morning session with a 1m49.418 lap.His teammate Tom Gamble took nearly one second off that time in the afternoon when he set a session best of 1m48.421, 0.474s ahead of his nearest rival, the no8 Realteam Racing Ligier of David Droux, with the no13 Euro Interpol Competition Ligier of Nigel Moore the third fastest LMP3 car of the day.
The United Autosports team elected to sit out the evening session and Tom Gamble’s time was still the LMP3 benchmark at the chequered flag. However, Vincent Capillaire did take the second fastest time of the day with a 1m48.677 lap at the end of the day in the no9 Graff Ligier-Nissan.
The LMGTE class belonged to the Iron Lynx team, with the no60 Ferrari setting the pace in the morning and evening sessions, while the afternoon belonged to the no83 F488 GTE EVO of Michelle Gatting, the Dane posting the best lap for the class of 1m53.410, just 0.048s ahead of the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Matt Griffin.The no77 Dempsey Proton Porsche was third quickest, with Alessio Picariello setting a 1m53.461 lap, just three thousandths behind Griffin and the top three were split by 0.051s at the end of the four-hour session.
Unlike the LMP2 and LMP3 categories, the LMGTE session set the best time of the day when Andrea Piccini in the no60 Iron Lynx Ferrari went nearly 1.2 seconds faster than Michelle Gatting’s time, the Italian posting a 1m52.245 lap while his teammate Claudio Schiavoni set the second fastest time of the day in the same car.
The test will resume at 09h00 tomorrow morning with the first of two more sessions to conclude the official ELMS test.The teams will then be ready for this weekend’s 4 Hours of Le Castellet, Round 1 of the 2020 European Le Mans Series.
CLICK HERE for the results from the morning session
CLICK HERE for the results from the afternoon session
CLICK HERE for the results from the night session
In the opening 4-hour session it was the no 21 DragonSpeed Oreca that headed the time sheets with Ben Hanley setting the best time of 1m40.889, just 0.247s faster than Nico Lapierre in the no37 Cool Racing Oreca.In the second session it was Lapierre’s who turned the tables on his rivals, improving his time by nearly 1.7 seconds with a 1m39.475, 0.355s ahead of Phil Hanson’s no22 United Autosports Oreca and a further seven hundredths ahead of the no26 G-Drive Racing Aurus, with 2019 LMP3 Champion Mikkel Jensen setting the best time of 1m39.907.Reigning LMP2 champions Idec Sport were the fourth car to dip under 1 minute 40 seconds with Richard Bradley posting a 1m39.935 lap.
In the two hour evening session only seven of the LMP2 cars went out on track and while Lapierre’s time wasn’t bettered, Tristan Gommendy took the second fastest time of the day with a 1m39.559 lap in the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca and Anders Fjordbach went third quickest with a 1m39.624 in the no20 High Class Racing Oreca-Gibson.
In LMP3 the no2 United Autosports Ligier headed the timing screens in the morning and afternoon sessions.Wayne Boyd set the best time in the morning session with a 1m49.418 lap.His teammate Tom Gamble took nearly one second off that time in the afternoon when he set a session best of 1m48.421, 0.474s ahead of his nearest rival, the no8 Realteam Racing Ligier of David Droux, with the no13 Euro Interpol Competition Ligier of Nigel Moore the third fastest LMP3 car of the day.
The United Autosports team elected to sit out the evening session and Tom Gamble’s time was still the LMP3 benchmark at the chequered flag. However, Vincent Capillaire did take the second fastest time of the day with a 1m48.677 lap at the end of the day in the no9 Graff Ligier-Nissan.
The LMGTE class belonged to the Iron Lynx team, with the no60 Ferrari setting the pace in the morning and evening sessions, while the afternoon belonged to the no83 F488 GTE EVO of Michelle Gatting, the Dane posting the best lap for the class of 1m53.410, just 0.048s ahead of the no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Matt Griffin.The no77 Dempsey Proton Porsche was third quickest, with Alessio Picariello setting a 1m53.461 lap, just three thousandths behind Griffin and the top three were split by 0.051s at the end of the four-hour session.
Unlike the LMP2 and LMP3 categories, the LMGTE session set the best time of the day when Andrea Piccini in the no60 Iron Lynx Ferrari went nearly 1.2 seconds faster than Michelle Gatting’s time, the Italian posting a 1m52.245 lap while his teammate Claudio Schiavoni set the second fastest time of the day in the same car.
The test will resume at 09h00 tomorrow morning with the first of two more sessions to conclude the official ELMS test.The teams will then be ready for this weekend’s 4 Hours of Le Castellet, Round 1 of the 2020 European Le Mans Series.
CLICK HERE for the results from the morning session
CLICK HERE for the results from the afternoon session
CLICK HERE for the results from the night session
