In a thrilling conclusion to the FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue pre-season test session, Robin Frijns of BMW WRT emerged as the fastest contender. The final four-hour session was held at the Lusail International Circuit, the venue for next week’s season-opener. This session was particularly important for Hypercar and LMGT3 teams, who were able to fully utilize the green flag running, following disruptions in previous sessions.
The session was not without its challenges, as debris on the exit kerb of Turn 15 saw the first FCY (Full Course Yellow) deployed just an hour into the session. This incident highlighted the drivers’ determination to push their track limits, although it resulted in minor debris dislodging from some cars.
Further drama unfolded when Ross Gunn from Heart of Racing momentarily lost control of his #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar at T4, causing the third FCY. The team manager and engineer were promptly called to race control. Gunn’s brief stop was followed by a pit stop after a black and orange (mechanical) flag was shown.
With two hours left on the clock, a 13-minute red flag was introduced due to debris scattered between T12-13. The session resumed with a prolonged green-flag run, marred only by a short spin at T10 from Riccardo Pera in his #92 Manthey Porsche 911 LMGT3.R. In the final minutes, Simon Mann’s #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 came to a halt on the left-hand side at T9, prompting the deployment of yellow flags.
Frijns stole the show by setting the fastest lap time of the Prologue, clocking in at 1:38.971 in his #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar. Sebastien Bourdais, in his #38 JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar, was hot on his heels with a lap time of 1:39.116, securing second place.
The third spot was claimed by the privately-funded #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, thanks to Robert Kubica’s impressive 1:39.141 lap time. Dries Vanthoor, in WRT’s #15 BMW, secured fourth position with a 1:39.253 lap time, while the top five was rounded out by Alex Lynn’s 1:39.296 lap time in his #12 JOTA Cadillac.
In the LMGT3 category, AF Corse dominated the top two positions, with their pair of Ferrari 296 LMGT3s setting the fastest lap times, separated by a mere 0.020 seconds. Mann led the category with a 1:54.790 lap time in his #21 Ferrari, closely followed by Francesco Castellacci in the #54 Ferrari with a 1:54.810 lap time.
Zacharie Robichon, in his #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 EVO, was third with a 1:54.939 lap time. Jonny Edgar’s #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R from TF Sport claimed the fourth spot with a 1:54.957 lap time, while Finn Gehristz completed the top five in the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3 with a 1:54.987 lap time.
With the Prologue sessions wrapped up, anticipation builds for the Qatar 1812 km race, slated to commence next Wednesday 26th February. The day’s action will kick off with Free Practice 1, starting at 11.30am local time or 8.30am GMT.