European Le Mans Series Pre-Season Test: Rossa Racing Leads Day Two
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain – Rossa Racing by Virage emerged as the frontrunner in the morning session of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) pre-season test, with Rik Koen clocking a blistering 1:29.330 in the #19 ORECA 07 – Gibson. This performance secured the top position among LMP2 Pro/Am competitors.
Following Koen, Marlon Hernandez in the #3 DKR Engineering ORECA finished second, just 0.177 seconds behind. James Allen in the #27 Nielsen Racing entry rounded out the top three.
The best of the LMP2 category came from Paul-Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport ORECA, who achieved a time of 1:29.649, placing fourth overall. Additional Pro/Am competitors included the #30 Duqueine Team, #83 AF Corse, and #7 Vector Sport ORECAs, with Nielsen Racing’s #24 entry in eighth position.
In the LMP3 class, Team Virage’s #8 Ligier JS P325 – Toyota topped the timesheets, with Daniel Nogales setting a time of 1:37.688, 0.474 seconds clear of the #5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier and #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier.
High Class Racing dominated the LMGT3 category once again, thanks to Laurun Heinrich’s early time of 1:41.760 in the #54 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2). Kessel Racing’s Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evos claimed second and third, while the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari and Proton Competition’s Porsches followed in the rankings.
The session experienced three red flags; the first was triggered by Jakub Smiechowski’s incident at Turn 11 in the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA. A more significant concern arose when the #22 United Autosports ORECA suffered an engine bay fire in its pits, although all team members were confirmed safe. The final red flag occurred with 33 minutes left when Nick Yelloly’s #43 ORECA stopped due to a suspected loose wheel.
Amid these interruptions, the #83 AF Corse LMP2 Pro/Am ORECA was notably active, completing 89 laps after overcoming a throttling sensor issue from the previous day.
The pre-season test will conclude this afternoon with an additional three hours of track time.
