Motorsport Fans Eagerly Await Thrilling Spa Showdown in WEC 2023
The opening practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 2023 at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit has set the stage for an intense battle among the top teams and drivers. Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco emerged as the pacesetter, leading the way with a blistering time of 2m05.690s in the #50 Ferrari 499P Hypercar.
Fuoco’s performance, which gave him a margin of over a second over his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari, showcased the Italian manufacturer’s strong form after their dominant display at the previous round in Imola. However, the times were still shy of the benchmarks set during last year’s first free practice session at Spa.
Challenging Ferrari’s supremacy were the new Hypercar contenders from Lamborghini and Alpine. Daniil Kvyat in the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 LMDh took third place, just ahead of Nicolas Lapierre in the #36 Signatech-run Alpine A424 LMDh. Kvyat’s time of 2m06.998s and Lapierre’s 2m07.020s highlighted the potential of these new-for-2023 machines.
The top five was completed by Yifei Ye in the #54 Ferrari run by AF Corse on a customer basis, while Neel Jani rounded out the top six in the #75 Proton Porsche 963 LMDh. The two factory Porsches driven by Laurens Vanthoor and Frederic Makowiecki followed in seventh and eighth, respectively.
“Reigning champions Toyota, represented by Sebastien Buemi, found themselves 11th in the pecking order, nearly two seconds off the pace.”
In the LMGT3 category, the TF Sport Chevrolet team led the way with Daniel Juncadella at the wheel of the #82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3-R, setting a time of 2m21.885s. Davide Rigon in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 was second, followed by the Heart of Racing Aston Martin and the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
With the second free practice session scheduled for later today, the teams and drivers will be eager to fine-tune their setups and strategies in preparation for the intense battle that awaits at the prestigious Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a crucial round in the 2023 WEC calendar.
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