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.
| POS. | NO. | TEAM | TIME | CLASS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 1:57.368s | LMP1 | |
| 2 | 19 | Porsche Team | 1:57.379s | LMP1 | |
| 3 | 18 | Porsche Team | 1:57.861s | LMP1 | |
| 4 | 17 | Porsche Team | 1:57.899s | LMP1 | |
| 5 | 8 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 1:58.228s | LMP1 | |
| 6 | 2 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 1:59.630s | LMP1 | |
| 7 | 1 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 1:59.850s | LMP1 | |
| 8 | 9 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 2:02.232s | LMP1 | |
| 9 | 26 | G-Drive Racing | 2:08.415s | LMP2 | |
| 10 | 47 | KCMG | 2:08.854s | LMP2 | |
| 11 | 38 | JOTA Sport | 2:08.965s | LMP2 | |
| 12 | 28 | G-Drive Racing | 2:09.331s | LMP2 | |
| 13 | 36 | Signatech Alpine | 2:09.816s | LMP2 | |
| 14 | 4 | Team ByKolles | 2:09.962s | LMP1 | |
| 15 | 43 | Team SARD Morand | 2:10.115s | LMP2 | |
| 16 | 42 | Strakka Racing | 2:11.516s | LMP2 | |
| 17 | 30 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 2:13.307s | LMP2 | |
| 18 | 35 | OAK Racing | 2:13.364s | LMP2 | |
| 19 | 31 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 2:14.631s | LMP2 | |
| 20 | 51 | AF Corse | 2:18.390s | GTE Pro | |
| 21 | 99 | Aston Martin Racing | 2:18.511s | GTE Pro | |
| 22 | 71 | AF Corse | 2:18.610s | GTE Pro | |
| 23 | 97 | Aston Martin Racing | 2:18.616s | GTE Pro | |
| 24 | 95 | Aston Martin Racing | 2:19.131s | GTE Pro | |
| 25 | 91 | Porsche Team Manthey | 2:19.175s | GTE Pro | |
| 26 | 50 | Larbre Competition | 2:21.118s | GTE Am | |
| 27 | 88 | Abu Dhabi Proton Racing | 2:21.446s | GTE Am | |
| 28 | 72 | SMP Racing | 2:21.504s | GTE Am | |
| 29 | 83 | AF Corse | 2:21.509s | GTE Am | |
| 30 | 77 | Dempsey Proton Racing | 2:21.819s | GTE Am | |
| 31 | 55 | AF Corse | 2:24.191s | GTE Am | |
| 32 | 97 | Aston Martin Racing | 2:24.620s | GTE Am |
