Fiercely-contested Qualifying at Paul Ricard for the GT WC Europe

Paul Ricard witnessed an intense day of track activity as the seven Ferrari 296 GT3s entered in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe - Endurance Cup 2024 took to the circuit. The day included a free practice session and pre-qualifying, with the fastest Prancing Horse car being the number 8 of Kessel Racing, securing second place in the Bronze class.

The highly anticipated afternoon session unfolded under clear skies and dry track conditions, with air and track temperatures registering at 19.1 and 34.8°C respectively. The session provided teams with the opportunity to experiment with various set-up configurations and rotate the three drivers comprising each crew behind the wheel. The 60-minute qualifying session was marked by exceptionally close lap times, so much so that the top 24 crews (out of 54 contenders) were separated by less than one second.

Pro Class. The 296 GT3s number 51 and 71 from the AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors team achieved the ninth and 34th fastest times overall (sixth and 17th in class). Alessandro Pier Guidi clocked in at 1'54''593, while David Vidales followed closely with a time of 1'55''348.

Bronze Class. In the category reserved for crews made up of professionals and gentlemen drivers, the best time of 1'54''384 was set by the number 8 296 GT3 of Kessel Racing, seventh overall and second in class (27 milliseconds behind the number 188 McLaren), with Niccolò Schirò at the wheel.

In the pre-qualifying session, the number 93 Ferrari from Sky Tempesta Racing claimed the top spot, followed by the number 74 Kessel Racing, the 52 of AF Corse, and the number 333 Rinaldi Racing, securing fourth, eighth, sixteenth, and seventh positions in the class, respectively.

The programme. For Sunday, 7 April, qualifying is scheduled, from 9.45 a.m. to 10.45 a.m., featuring a format where each driver will have a 15-minute session. The starting grid for the 3 Hours of Paul Ricard, set to begin at 3.00 p.m., will be determined based on the best combined time (all times are local).