The 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup has begun with the one-day official test in Barcelona.
At the end of the second session the no22 United Autosports Ligier JS P320-Nissan of American duo Gerald Kraut and Scott Andrews was the fastest car of the day. Andrews had set a 1m36.355 lap in the morning session that wasn’t bettered in the afternoon. Cedric Oltramare set the best time in the afternoon, the Swiss driver posting a 1m36.498 lap, just 0.143s behind Andrews’ best time earlier in the day.
Matt Bell was third fastest in the no4 Nielsen Duqueine M30-D08 Nissan, the British driver 0.331s off the best time and 0.053s ahead of Kirill Smal in the no2 CD Sport Ligier.
David Droux was fifth fastest with a 1m36.775s lap in the no97 Cool Racing Ligier, 0.257s ahead of local driver Belen Garcia, who set a 1m37.032 in the no25 360 Racing Ligier.
The GT3 category saw the top five places filled by five different manufacturers, with the time sheets headed by the no86 HCR With CaffineSix Porsche 911 in both sessions. The afternoon session proved to be the quicker of the two for Anders Fjordbach, the Danish driver posting a 1m41.680 lap in the Porsche, which was over half a second quicker than the morning session.
The no10 Racing Spirit of Lemans Aston Martin Vantage was second quickest, with Valentin Hasse-Clot finishing the day just 0.096s behind the leading Porsche.
Leipart Motorsport were third fastest with the no70 Lamborghini Huracan of Gerard Watzinger posting a 1m42.188, 0.159s ahead of the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Portimao race winner Kei Cozzolino. The no42 Stellar Motorsport Audi R8 made it five different manufacturers in the top 5, with Sennan Fielding setting a 1m42.637 lap.
The Michelin Le Mans Cup grid will be back in action on Friday 21 April with Free Practice 1 getting underway at 09h50.
CLICK HERE for the result from the MLMC Official Test.
