Ram Racing led the way as track action began ahead of the 70th edition Total 24 Hours of Spa, with the British squad's #49 machine heading a Mercedes-AMG one-two in the Bronze Test.
The three-hour session was open to all bronze-graded competitors, as well as any silver drivers who had not previously contested the Belgian endurance classic. A total of 25 cars took to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit under clear blue skies and in high temperatures, making the most of the additional track time on offer.
The #49 Ram-Mercedes was among the front-runners for the majority of the session, with both Salih Yoluc and Darren Burke eligible to participate for the Pro-Am squad. Ultimately, the car was a comfortable 0.524s clear at the top of the order.
Second spot was occupied by the #175 Sun Energy 1 Team HTP car, with bronze-graded drivers Kenny Habul and Martin Konrad both getting behind the wheel for the German squad. The team is participating at Spa as part of its assault on the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 was third fastest, just 0.089s shy of the #175 Mercedes-AMG, with regular drivers Alexander Mattschull and Rinat Salikhov behind the wheel.
Pro-Am squads locked out the top-five positions, though the fastest Am Cup entry was not far adrift in P6. This was the #9 Target Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 piloted by Stefano Costantini, Sylvain Debs and Bernard Delhez, which lapped 1.581s shy of the pace-setting Mercedes-AMG.
The next track action will take place on Thursday, with Wednesday reserved for activities in Spa town centre, including the annual parade, autograph session and drivers’ briefing.
Thursday will see the cars return to circuit in spectacular style, with free practice, pre-qualifying, qualifying and night practice all set to take place over the course of the day. All of these sessions will be available to watch on the Blancpain GT Series website.