The third free practice session for the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans witnessed tricky conditions, as light rain showers dampened the Circuit of The Americas
The treacherous track surface tested the 36 entries to the maximum as final preparations for qualifying took place
Topping the timing screens was last year’s winning Ferrari, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar, with Robert Kubica lapping in 1m51.967s
That effort was 0.190s clear of the #50 Ferrari, as Nicklas Nielsen peaked with a lap of 1m52.157s
While Ferrari locked out the top two positions, behind them it was an ultra-close multi-manufacturer battle, with the #35 Alpine A424 Hypercar ending up third as Charles Milesi mastered the slippery conditions to register a 1m52.171s lap
The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry took fourth in the hands of Earl Bamber, in the car he shares with US-domiciled aces Jenson Button and Sébastien Bourdais
Ferrari got all three of its Hypercar entries into the top five as the #51 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi continued to show strong pace
Aston Martin consolidated its positive start to the Lone Star Le Mans weekend, as the #007 Valkyrie took the sixth-best time with a 1m52.396s lap
But the car’s session ended early when Tom Gamble suffered a huge spin at Turn Six after hitting dirt thrown onto the track and losing control
The sister #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie placed 12th after being forced to pit midway through its programme due to slowing on-track
The Hypercar top ten was completed by the #36 Alpine, #6 Porsche, #8 Toyota and #20 BMW
LMGT3
The LMGT3 category saw the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang set the pace as it races at home this weekend
Ben Barker topped the times in the unique LMGT3 design he shares with Bernardo Sousa and Ben Tuck by peaking on a 2m05.947s lap
The Englishman’s effort was 0.2s clear of the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, as Jack Hawksworth continues to impress after being parachuted into the team to replace José María López, who has temporarily moved across to stand in for the injured Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota Hypercar
Fourth in LMGT3 was the #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari, which just headed the #21 stablemate 296 LMGT3; Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera respectively set the times
Completing the top six was the first of the McLarens, with the #95 entry of Marino Sato, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael sharing the cockpit
Gelael survived a lurid spin early in the session when the Indonesian gyrated amid the damp conditions
The #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo returned to the track after missing much of Friday’s running following a crash during FP1
The qualifying and Hyperpole sessions are scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time (22:00 CET) on Saturday afternoon.
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