Debutant Hughes Sets the Pace on Prologue’s First Day

Photo: Jan Patrick Wagner/European Le Mans Series

Single-seater convert Jake Hughes began his sports car career in rapid fashion as he set the pace for Algarve Pro Racing on the first day of the European Le Mans Series Prologue in Barcelona after four-time category champion Louis Deletraz had headed the leaderboard for the majority of the day.

Two four-hour test sessions were held in Spain on Monday as the record 47-strong ELMS entry took to the track together for the first time, while there were also two separate 30-minute sessions at the end of the day, one for LMP2 machinery and one for the LMP3 and LMGT3 crews.

Deletraz set a 1:29.120 in the first hour of the morning session and that lap was good enough to stay at the top of the times throughout the first two main sessions in the TF-run No. 99 AO Oreca 07 Gibson.

However, his time was finally bettered after roughly 10 minutes of the final half-hour session by former Formula E driver Hughes, who posted a 1:28.667 in the No. 25 APR machine to go over a tenth quicker than the best time of last year’s Prologue, while Deletraz’s morning effort was still good enough for second on the combined timesheets.

Another driver to improve late in the day was Paul Loup-Chatin in the No. 28 IDEC Sport Oreca, who went third overall with a 1:29.137.

Reigning ELMS champion Esteban Masson also improved in the final half hour to go fourth in the No. 29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca on a 1:29.273.

Fifth fastest on the combined timesheets was Pietro Fittipaldi in the No. 10 Vector Sport machine – the Brazilian having clocked a 1:29.349 in the morning – while the top six was completed by Reshad de Gerus, who is one of just two drivers piloting the No. 34 Inter Europol Competition entry.

Scott Huffaker was fastest in the afternoon for TDS Racing but his 1:29.894 was only good enough for eighth on the combined timesheet.

The No. 83 AF Corse Oreca was one of several cars in strife during the heavily-disrupted morning testing as it twice stopped on track and then only completed two untimed laps during the afternoon, while it was not seen in the evening.

The pace in the hotly-contested LMP3 division was also set in the short evening session, with the No. 17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 Toyota leading the way thanks to a 1:38.179 set by Bruno Ribeiro.

That effort for last year’s class title-winning squad was fractionally faster than the No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier of Douwe Dedecker, who managed a 1:38.186 in the same session.

The No. 85 R-ace GP Duqueine D09 Toyota topped the afternoon leaderboard thanks to Michelin Le Mans Cup race winner Pierre-Alexandre Provost’s 1:38.226.

That compared to morning pacesetter Wyatt Brichacek, who posted a 1:38.476 in the No. 4 DKR Engineering Ligier to fractionally beat Lenny Ried in the No. 31 Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier, who set a 1:38.509.

There was no disputing who was the pacesetter in the LMGT3 ranks as factory driver Laurin Heinrich set a time that ended up being over seven tenths quicker than his class rivals in the No. 54 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

Heinrich posted a 1:41.400 in the opening session, which proved to be an eventful one for the Porsche squad as its car twice stopped on track, the second time with a fuel pump problem.

Heinrich’s team-mate Anders Fjordbach also clocked the third quickest time in that segment, while the Porsche’s closest rival was defending champion Charlie Eastwood in the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on 1:42.110.

Fourth fastest was the No. 23 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Wayne Boyd on a 1:42.283, while it wasn’t until fifth on the combined timesheets that a lap from the afternoon featured: Daniel Serra’s 1:42.318 in the No. 59 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.

Blake McDonald, who is deputizing for the injured Ben Keating in the opening rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship, headed the short evening session in the No. 33 Corvette with a 1:42.675.

A further seven hours of testing is scheduled on Tuesday ahead of first practice for the opening round of the ELMS season beginning in Barcelona on Friday.

RESULTS: Session 1/Session 2/Session 3/Session 4

Source: Sports Car 365