Audi Sport Team Joest topped the third and final practice session for the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps after André Lotterer recorded the fastest lap of the session, despite Porsche’s pace advantage.
The German driver’s 1:57.368s lap in dry conditions was just 0.01 seconds quicker than Nico Hülkenberg in the #19 Porsche. Hülkenberg was the first in a sextet of Porsche drivers who all submitted times within a second of Lotterer’s benchmark.
Nick Tandy posted the fourth quickest time of the day with a 1:57.861s, while Neel Jani, Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard and Marc Lieb followed closely.
Despite laying down an early marker Mike Conway (#2 Toyota) dropped to tenth as the Porsches stepped up the pace later in the session. The Briton’s fastest lap of 1:59.630s eclipsed his team-mate Stéphane Sarrazin by a tenth of a second, with Sébastien Buemi in the #1 car a further tenth adrift.
The #4 Team ByKolles CLM AER P1/01 did manage to get some track time in third practice, with Vitantonio Liuzzi and Simon Trummer at the wheel.
In LMP2, G-Drive Racing’s Sam Bird laid down the marker at the end of a busy session. The Briton’s 2:08.145s best was four tenths quicker than Matt Howson in the KCMG ORECA 05. JOTA Sport continued its European Le Mans Series form with Harry Tincknell submitting a competitive 2:08.965s, while Pipo Derani ended the session fourth fastest in the #28 G-Drive Ligier.
In LMGTE Pro the margins were once again close, but it was the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander that prevailed with a 2:18.390s fastest lap. The Finn’s team-mate Gianmaria Bruni finished a tenth adrift, with Fernando Rees (#99 Aston Martin) and James Calado (#71 Ferrari) also within a whisker of the top spot.
Aston Martin Racing topped LMGTE Am thanks to a 2:19.485s lap from Pedro Lamy. The Portuguese driver was 1.6 seconds quicker than Paolo Ruberti in the #50 Larbre Corvette, while Klaus Bachler rounded out the top three in the #88 Abu Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche.
The 2015 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will begin tomorrow at 13:35 GMT.
[table id=206 /]
