WEC prologue completed in Barcelona

Season 8 of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) kicked off with a two-day prologue in Barcelona. The cars due to compete in the 4 Hours of Silverstone, the opening round of the championship, on 1 September, took to the track.

LMGTE-Pro. After its triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 488 GTE returned to action with a new livery and new ambitions. Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado reacquainted themselves with car no. 51 through a work programme aimed at collecting data and information on the behaviour of the car and tyres. Davide Rigon and Miguel Molina also took turns at the wheel of no. 71 after their unfortunate retirement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team completed the work programme early, and so did not take part in the last scheduled session.

LMGTE-Am. This was an important trial run for Ferrari crews and teams giving them the chance to get to know the 488 GTE equipped with the EVO package. Four teams took part in the two days in Spain, held under a baking sun with very high asphalt and air temperatures, taking to the track in all four of the scheduled sessions. They tackled the 4655 metres of the Montmelò circuit in the colours of AF Corse, with the no. 54 driven by the tried and tested trio of Giancarlo Fisichella, Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, and the no. 83 crewed by François Perrodo, Nicklas Nielsen and Emmanuel Collard. The 488 GTE of MR Racing saw Motoaki Ishikawa and Olivier Beretta take turns at the wheel, while Red River Sport, making its series debut, lined up Bonamy Grimes and Johnny Mowlem.