Overcast skies greeted the field of fifty-four for the opening practice session for the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans. In a relatively quiet and straightforward session, Acura flexed their muscle going 1-2. Nick Yelloly set the benchmark with a 1:11.506 in the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Before Yelloly, Tom Blomqvist was the early pacesetter but ended the session second quickest in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura. Only three thousandths separated the two teammates. Championship leader Jack Aitken put the #31 Action Express Cadillac third. Laurens Vanthoor placed the #6 Penske Porsche fourth with Filipe Albuquerque placing the Wayne Taylor Racing #10 Cadillac fifth.
While there were no yellow flags, there were some contact during the ninety-minute session. Notably the #7 Penske Porsche and the #25 WRT BMW had a collision sending the BMW off-track. Race control responded with handing the Porsche a drive-thru penalty. The #34 Conquest Ferrari, with Lorenzo Patrese at the wheel at the time, also received a drive-thru penalty after sending the #73 Pratt Miller Motorsports Oreca off-track.
LMP2: First Blood to InterEuropol
InterEuropol make a statement out the gate topping the charts in LMP2. Tom Dillmann – almost like clockwork at this point – went out early and set the pace. The Frenchmen clocked a lap of 1:12.628 in the #43 Oreca. Championship outsiders AO Racing came second quickest courtesy of Dane Cameron’s 1:13.233. Matias Beche rounds out the top-3 in class for TDS Racing and their #11 Oreca.
Second in the championship Crowdstrike Racing, meanwhile, were mired mid-pack. Alex Quinn’s 1:13.659 was only eighth fastest in the session. The other outsider, the #22 of United Autosports, was fifth quickest in the session. Paul Di Resta turned the car’s representing lap of 1:13.341.
Vasser Sullivan and Wright Lead GT
To the GT classes, Jack Hawksworth lead the GT contingent. The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus paced GTD PRO with a 1:19.530. Neil Verhagen in the Paul Miller BMW was second, nearly half a second off Hawksworth. The Triarsi Ferrari rounded out the top-3 in class. Championship leaders, the #4 Corvette, was only sixth quickest while Pfaff could only muster thirteenth in the #9 Lambo.
GTD was led by Tom Sargeant in the Wright Motorsports #120 Porsche, clocking in with a lap of 1:19.632. The Myers-Riley Mustang was second quickest with the AF Corse USA Ferrari third courtesy of Antonio Fuocco. For the championship contenders, the #96 Turner BMW was sixth quickest leading that group. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin was tenth quickest while points leaders Winward were only twelfth quickest.
