WEC: Ferrari sets early pace at Spa, Porsche hits back in FP2

FIA news QATAR WINNERS KICK OFF WEEKEND ON TOP IN FP1 AT SPA In warm and sunny conditions, the #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry driven by Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen emerged at the head of the timing screens, peaking with a best lap of 2:02.835s set by Antonio Fuoco. The Prancing Horse continues its excellent start to the 2025 season, as it attempts to hunt down a hat-trick of victories in Belgium after successes in Qatar and Italy. Making it a one-two in FP2 was the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, as Robert Kubica lapped just 0.222s shy of the top spot. The #36 Alpine Hypercar, which claimed a memorable podium at Imola last time out, continued its impressive form as Mick Schumacher set a 2:03.094s late in the session to claim the third-fastest lap. Team Peugeot TotalEnergies showed promising early pace again as the pair of 9X8 prototypes placed fourth and fifth, spearheaded by Paul di Resta’s 2:03.294s effort in the #93 entry. The second of the Peugeots piloted by local ace Stoffel Vandoorne, Loïc Duval and Malthe Jakobsen was fifth, as the Dane posted the best lap for the #94 car on 2:03.573s. A mere half-a-second blanketed the top four cars in the ultra-tight LMGT3 category, with the Akkodis ASP Lexus squad again featuring prominently in the final order. The #78 RC F LMGT3 ultimately sat at the top of the times as a fastest lap of 2:18.432s was completed by Finn Gehrsitz to just shade the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 driven by François Heriau, Alessio Rovera and Simon Mann, whose best time was set by the Italian. The sister #87 Lexus placed third, with Clemens Schmid, José María López and Petru Umbrarescu similarly targeting a champagne celebration on Saturday evening. The Argentine ace posted the quickest lap for the #87 car. In fourth position was the leading Proton Competition Ford Mustang, the #88 car campaigned by Stefano Gattuso, Dennis Olsen and Giammarco Levorato. Olsen claimed the best time for that car with a lap of 2:18.969s. PORSCHE TOPS INCIDENT-FILLED FP2 Reigning champion Kévin Estre put Porsche back at the top of the timesheets in the second practice of the day. The #6 Porsche, which will see reigning FIA Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein make his FIA WEC debut this weekend alongside Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, peaked with a 2:01.475s lap.  That time was just 0.091s quicker than Ferrari’s FP1-topping time. The Qatar winners continued to be rapid in the second free practice session with the second-fastest time set by Antonio Fuoco, who stopped the clocks on a 2:01.566s. However, an incident in the later part of the session saw the scarlet machine sustain front-end damage, with the team setting to work on the car after it was crashed by Miguel Molina.  Placing third in the 90-minute FP2 was the #20 BMW M Team WRT entry, with Robin Frijns stopping the clocks with a best effort of 2:01.785s. The session was red flagged on three occasions. The #51 Ferrari AF Corse of Antonio Giovinazzi crashed on the out-lap at Raidillon, Stephen Grove had a similar incident in the #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes and then Tom Gamble went off the road at Pouhon in the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie. All three drivers emerged unhurt from the accidents. The #51 Ferrari was able to be repaired and briefly returned to the track just as the session ended. Heart of Racing Team’s Aston Martin topped the LMGT3 category, as Zacharie Robichon set the quickest lap of the session with a 2:18.326s benchmark in the British machine. The Canadian outpaced the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus by a slender 0.052s, with Clemens Schmid posting the best time in the Japanese brand’s much-improved LMGT3 challenger this season.  Making it three manufacturers inside the top three, like in Hypercar, was the #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari piloted by Davide Rigon. World Endurance Championship WEC Endurance WEC SEASON 2025 FIA Circuit 1FIAWorld Endurance ChampionshipCircuitWECSEASON 2025WECEndurance00 Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 7:08pm Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 7:08pm