Panis Barthez Ligier Leads FP1 in Imola

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Paul-Loup Chatin set the fastest lap in the opening free practice session for the European Le Mans Series Four Hours of Imola, for Panis Barthez Competition.

Chatin’s best lap in the No. 23 Ligier JS P2 Nissan that he shares with Fabien Barthez and Timothe Buret was a 1:34.435, which put him 0.805 seconds in the lead.

The car in second place after the 90 minute session was Eurasia Motorsport’s No. 33 Oreca 05 Nissan, with Tristan Gommendy at the wheel. Thiriet by TDS Racing completed the top three.

With Murphy Prototypes fourth, ahead of Krohn Racing and G-Drive Racing, there were four different car models in the top six.

Eurointernational led the way in LMP3, after a time of 1:40.099 courtesy of Giorgio Mondini. This put the No. 11 Ligier JS P3 Nissan in the lead by just 0.069 seconds, ahead of the Silverstone-winning No. 2 United Autosports entry.

A 1:42.262 from Andrea Bertolini put the JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia into the GTE lead. The team was 0.316 seconds clear of the similar Ferrari run by Formula Racing.

The session had two full course yellows, and then was cut short with a couple of minutes remaining. This came after the Murphy Prototypes Oreca 03R Nissan became stuck in the gravel at turn 15.

The second session is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:35 a.m. local time.

RESULTS: Free Practice 1

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.