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Intercontinental GT Challenge

Pier Guidi Quickest for Iron Lynx in First 24H Spa Test Session

Iron Lynx Ferrari leads wet opening session for official 24H Spa test days…

Photo: SRO

Iron Lynx Ferrari driver Alessandro Pier Guidi set the fastest lap during the opening session of the two-day official pre-event test for next month’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.

Pier Guidi logged a time of 2:03.777 in tricky wet conditions to lead the way on Tuesday morning.

The No. 37 Team WRT Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo finished second, just under nine-tenths shy of the leading car, while the No. 25 Sainteloc Racing Audi finished third.

A total of 61 cars are signed up to take part in the official Spa test, including several Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup regulars and a handful of entries from teams that normally compete in other championships.

Most of the additional teams are running Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

Frikadelli Racing Team has brought a single Porsche to prepare for its recently confirmed two-car commitment, while fellow Porsche outfits Rutronik Racing, Huber Motorsport, EBM Giga Racing, T2 Racing and Team Parker Racing are also on-site.

KCMG recently announced its plans to contest the 24 Hours of Spa with two Porsches involving defending race winners Laurens Vanthoor and Nick Tandy. The KCMG Porsches finished fourth and sixth in the Tuesday morning times, placing either side of the No. 5 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo on the leaderboard.

Walkenhorst Motorsport has brought an Am Cup-class BMW M6 GT3 in addition to its two GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Pro entries.

Those entries are running alongside the new BMW M4 GT3, which is making its public testing debut in the hands of Nick Yelloly, Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann ahead of its competition debut in this weekend’s NLS round at the Nürburgring.

The BMW M Motorsport-entered car placed 14th overall on a time of 2:32.952 and completed 22 laps on its first outing in an SRO Motorsports Group track session. 

The No. 34 Walkenhorst Motorsport M6 GT3 did not take part in the first test session, and was joined on the sidelines by the No. 53 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020.

The EBM Porsche failed to register any times after its engine blew on the opening lap, according to Endurance-Info.

Vincenzo Sospiri Racing has remained at Spa after winning an International GT Open race at the Belgian track last weekend to test a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.

Emil Frey Racing, which swept the Sprint Cup round at Zandvoort last weekend, has a single Lamborghini signed up for the official test days. The Swiss team normally runs a trio of Huracan GT3 Evos in Endurance Cup.

Emil Frey’s No. 163 car was reported to have left the track on Tuesday morning, before returning to the pits under its own steam.

Both Team WRT and Sainteloc have additional Pro-class Audis on track at Spa.

Attempto Racing’s No. 66 Audi is shown as an Audi Sport-backed car. The German squad finished second last year with Mattia Drudi, Frederic Vervisch and Patric Niederhauser.

AKKA-ASP has brought a pair of Pro Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos to Belgium, with the No. 89 entry arriving in addition to the No. 88 machine that competes in Endurance Cup.

CMR is running a single Bentley Continental GT3, while JOTA’s McLaren 720S GT3 is present after missing last weekend’s Sprint Cup round. The Optimum-run Inception Racing team has stayed on from the Spa GT Open fixture with its Pro-Am McLaren.

RESULTS: Tuesday Morning

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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