Chris Lulham topped this morning's Bronze Test at Circuit Paul Ricard at the wheel of the Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin.
The Silver-classified driver – who is competing in a Gold Cup entry – was eligible to contest the 60-minute session due to his lack of experience at the track. Indeed, Lulham has made a significant step up this season having largely competed in sim racing.
But he is quickly adapting to the challenge of GT3 competition. The British driver posted a 1m54.151 to lead the way at the wheel of the #33 Aston Martin, 1.3 seconds clear of fellow countryman Darren Leung (#991 Paradine Competition BMW).
Dustin Blatter (#74 Kessel Racing Ferrari) was third, a tenth shy of his fellow Bronze driver, with Rinat Salikhov (#81 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG) fourth and Ralf Bohn (#91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche) in fifth. The latter set an identical time (1m55.976s) to the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Ferrari of Marco Pulcini.
The session was stopped almost as soon as it began due to a fire aboard the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. The car, driven by Andrey Mukovoz, came to a halt with flames licking from the rear and took no further part in the Bronze Test. Fortunately, Mukovoz was able to exit safely.
The next session will see the full field hit the track for Free Practice. This two-hour session gets underway at 14:20 CEST, while Pre-Qualifying follows at 20:00.