Haase Sets Misano Free Practice Pace in Comtoyou Audi

Comtoyou Racing Audi driver Christopher Haase set the fastest lap in Free Practice for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup round at Misano.

Haase turned in a time of 1:31.954 behind the wheel of the No. 11 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II that he shares with Lucas Legeret, beating Emil Frey Racing Ferrari driver Giacomo Altoe by 0.024 seconds.

Legeret set the pace in the first half of the 80-minute Free Practice session which was reserved for Silver and Bronze-rated drivers.

The order shuffled when the Golds and Platinums joined, with Sprint Cup points leader Mattia Drudi initially going quickest overall in the No. 40 Tresor Orange 1 Audi.

Team WRT BMW driver Charles Weerts also had a turn at the top of the leaderboard, before Altoe set a new benchmark of 1:31.978 with around 25 minutes remaining.

Haase then returned the No. 11 Comtoyou Audi to first position with 20 minutes to go.

Free Practice was red-flagged twice, first for a spin into the gravel at the fast Turn 13 right-hander for the new AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Louis Machiels.

The second stoppage occurred with eight minutes remaining when AF Corse’s Silver Cup Ferrari of Nicola Marinangelli also had a trip into the gravel bed.

There were no significant improvements in the short burst of green flag running at the end of the session, with Haase leading from Altoe and Weerts ending up in third.

The Bronze Cup-leading No. 87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was fourth in the hands of Jim Pla, followed by the No. 12 Comtoyou Racing Audi of Frederic Vervisch.

Team WRT’s No. 30 BMW M3 GT3 set the pace in Silver Cup courtesy of a 1:32.600 from Niklas Kruetten.

Friday’s track action at Misano continues with Pre-Qualifying at 3:20 p.m. CEST (9:20 EDT).

RESULTS: Free Practice