Gounon Leads Mercedes 1-2 in Monza Free Practice

Reigning Endurance Cup champion Jules Gounon led a one-two for Mercedes-AMG teams in the opening Free Practice session of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season at Monza.

Gounon steered the No. 88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG to a time of 1:46.187 before handing the car over to his co-drivers Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy.

The Andorran driver beat Mercedes-AMG Team Al Manar Racing’s Fabian Schiller to the top spot by 0.075 seconds, while Mattia Drudi ended up third in the Attempto Racing-prepared Tresor Orange1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Mercedes-AMGs and Audis occupied the sharp end of the 55-car leaderboard during Saturday morning’s 90-minute run.

Philip Ellis took fourth overall in the Gold Cup-leading Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, head of the Pro-class Audis from Comtoyou Racing and Sainteloc Junior Team.

The highest-placed car from another manufacturer was the No. 55 Dinamic GT Huber Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R which finished ninth courtesy of Ben Barker’s 1:46.882.

Barker led the Bronze Cup class and finished one overall position behind Silver Cup pacesetter Alex Aka aboard the No. 99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi.

Free Practice was red-flagged with just under 40 minutes to go when Derek Pierce spun Team Parker Racing’s Porsche into the gravel at the second Lesmo right-hander.

Track action resumed after a 10-minute pause and the session remained green despite dramas for some other cars.

The AGS Events Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II touched the left-side barriers after a wild spin exiting the Roggia chicane, while Ivan Jacoma was forced to complete a slow lap in Car Collection Motorsport’s Porsche when the car’s right-front wheel became locked.

Grasser Racing Team’s No. 85 Lamborghini encountered a mechanical issue on its right-rear corner, and Audi factory drivers Christopher Mies and Mattia Drudi had wild off-track moments at Lesmo 2 and Ascari without their vehicles coming to harm.

The next session for the Endurance Cup field is Pre-Qualifying at 1:40 p.m. CET (7:40 a.m. ET).

RESULTS: Free Practice