The #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT crew led an ultra-close free practice session at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Alex Riberas' best lap of 1m45.326s pipping the #519 Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini by just 0.002s.
Local ace Riberas posted the quickest effort around halfway through the 90-minute run at the wheel of the car he shares with Dries Vanthoor and Ezequiel Perez Companc, while Giacomo Altoe recorded the second-best time in the #519 Lamborghini
Third fastest was the #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG, driven by Raffaele Marciello, which was just 0.017s shy of Riberas' benchmark. The narrow gaps at the head of the order were characteristic of a highly competitive session, with less than one second covering the top-24 runners at the end of free practice.
The Silver Cup class was led by the #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG, which is set to seal the Endurance title this weekend. Nico Bastian recorded the leading time in the car he shares with Felipe Fraga and Timur Boguslavisky. The German driver's best effort was good enough for fifth spot overall, though it was just 0.050s clear of class rival GPX Racing's #20 Porsche.
Among the Pro-Am runners, Tom Onslow-Cole led the way at the wheel of the #74 RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG, which will look to snatch the Endurance crown this weekend by overturning a 16-point deficit to the #97 Oman Racing by TF Sport Aston Martin. Onslow-Cole and teammate Remon Vos were classified seventh overall at the session's end.
Perhaps the most eye-catching lap of free practice came from the #29 Raton Racing by Target Lamborghini, which set the 17th-best time overall to comfortably lead the Am Cup class. Stefano Constantini posted the lap, placing the #29 Lamborghini ahead of several all-pro line-ups.
The session began with two red flags in the opening 20 minutes for minor on-track incidents, but remained green for over an hour following the early interruptions. Cars will be back in action at 15.00 for pre-qualifying, which will give drivers a further 90 minutes of track time. This session – as well as tomorrow's qualifying and race – will be streamed live on the Blancpain GT Series website and social media channels.
> Free Practice Results