Boutsen VDS kicked off this weekend's Fanatec GT Europe Sprint Cup finale in perfect style by taking a dominant one-two in Free Practice.
The Belgian squad's #9 Mercedes-AMG topped the times thanks to Jules Gounon, who produced a 1m40.225s to shade the sister #10 car of Aurélien Panis by 0.086s. Though he was beaten into P2 overall, Panis nevertheless topped the Silver Cup class to complete a brilliant showing from Boutsen VDS.
Dennis Marschall was third overall for Rutronik Racing. The #97 Porsche was the best of the Bronze Cup runners, albeit more than half a second shy of the rapid Boutsen VDS duo. Eddie Cheever was fourth overall and second in Bronze, a mere 0.001s slower than Marschall.
Calan Williams placed fifth overall thanks to a 1m40.903s in the #30 Team WRT BMW, which he will share with Sean Gelael this weekend after regular driver Sam De Haan was forced to withdraw for personal reasons. This means that Williams will chase the Silver Cup title solo, though there is still a scenario in which he and De Haan could be co-champions.
Simon Gachet was sixth overall and quickest in the Gold Cup aboard the #111 CSA Racing Audi. The French squad sits third in a very close battle for the class crown ahead of this weekend's deciding contest.
The session ran for its full duration of one hour and 40 minutes without interruption. It will be followed by a further hour of running this afternoon, with Pre-Qualifying scheduled for 14:20.
> RESULT: Free Practice
