Last year's TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa victors hit form in Pre-Qualifying as Iron Lynx moved to the top of the timing screens with its #51 Ferrari.
Indeed, a pair of former winners emerged at the head of the field in the 60-minute session. Kevin Estre set the early pace in the #221 GPX Martini Racing Porsche, recording a time of 2m18.324s in the car he'll share with fellow 2019 winners Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen.
The Frenchman wasn't there for long, however, as Nicklas Nielsen posted a 2m18.282s in the Iron Lynx entry. The Danish driver, who was part of last year's winning #51 crew, was 0.032s clear of Estre, while Maxi Götz (#2 AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG) was a further 0.082s back in third.
Fourth overall went to the #7 Inception Racing McLaren, driven by Frederik Schandorff, which was in fine form as it secured top spot in the Gold Cup class. Herberth Motorsport remained on top in Pro-Am, though on this occasion it was the #9 Porsche driven by Jaxon Evans that set the time and finished sixth overall.
The Silver Cup leader was one spot back. Tommaso Mosca was 0.261s shy of Nielsen in the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG and well clear of his nearest class rival. Indeed, the Italian beat his much-fancied teammates in the sister #88 entry. In the battle for Bronze Cup honours, the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW was 50th overall thanks to Theo Overhaus, 12 places clear of the rival #20 SPS Mercedes-AMG.
The session was stopped by three red flags. The first was caused by newcomer Matt Payne (#16 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche) spinning exiting Les Combes and making light contact with the barriers. Piti Bhirombhakdi (#39 Singha Racing TP12 Porsche) was the next to encounter problems, losing the car at Les Combes and becoming stuck in the gravel.
Finally, Stephen Grove spun the unfortunate #16 Porsche into the barriers at Speaker's Corner. This took place late in the session, with the final green flag period lasting just a few minutes.
The next track action will see Qualifying take place at 20:40 CEST. With a 66-car grid this promises to be a challenging session for the teams and the drivers, whose priority will be to bank a clean lap as soon as possible. Live coverage will air on the GTWorld YouTube channel from 20:30.