Spa-Francorchamps Free Practice 2: Pourchaire Leads Algarve Pro Racing
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium — Théo Pourchaire of Algarve Pro Racing showcased impressive speed in Free Practice 2 for the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at Spa-Francorchamps, clocking a top time of 2:01.369 in the #25 ORECA 07 – Gibson. The Frenchman’s time, set nine minutes into the session, surpassed Reshad De Gerus of Duqueine Team, who previously recorded a 2:01.555.
Pourchaire’s lap stands as the second-fastest overall for the weekend, only trailing teammate Alex Quinn’s FP1 leading time of 2:01.091. De Gerus finished second in the #30 ORECA, followed closely by Daniel Juncadella of IDEC Sport in the #18 ORECA, just 0.008 seconds behind.
The session saw consistent lap times from the front runners, predominantly recorded early on, as rain developed towards the end of the 90-minute practice.
In the LMP2 Pro/Am category, Thomas Laurent drove the #3 DKR Engineering ORECA to the fastest time of 2:01.738, placing him sixth overall and 0.399 seconds ahead of Quinn’s Algarve Pro entry. Dane Cameron rounded out the top three in the #99 AO Racing entry.
In the LMP3 class, Theodor Jensen set the pace in the #17 Ligier JS P325 – Toyota with a time of 2:13.153, followed by Ian Aguilera in the #11 Eurointernational Ligier and Griffin Peebles in the #12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine D09. The session was briefly interrupted by a Full Course Yellow when Leonard Weiss encountered difficulties at Turn 14.
In LMGT3, United Autosports maintained its strong position with Garnet Patterson’s #23 McLaren LMGT3 EVO posting the best time of 2:17.922. Valentin Hasse Clot followed in the #59 Aston Martin, with Alessio Picariello in the #60 Porsche GT3 R and Fran Rueda’s #74 Ferrari completing the top four.
Upcoming: Qualifying for the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is scheduled to begin today at 12:30 CEST.
