Track action for the 2026 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps took place under cloudy skies and cool ambient and track temperatures this morning
Ferrari led Aston Martin as Antonio Fuoco logged a best lap of 2m02.955s in the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar –an effort that was 0.564s ahead of the #009 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie
Alex Riberas punched in a 2m03.523s lap to boost the US-entered team as it looks to kick on from its debut FIA WEC season in 2025
Alpine showed it could be in the mix come Saturday afternoon, as the #36 A424 crewed by Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Victor Martins placed third; Makowiecki, who memorably led the 2025 race for Les Bleus, set the lap of 2m03.523s
Robert Kubica’s early 2m03.650s run was good enough for fourth at the chequered flag, as the yellow Ferrari started the Spa weekend strongly
Alpine delivered strength in numbers over the 90-minute session, with the #35 car driven by António Félix da Costa, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi taking fifth position
Completing the top six in Hypercar was the first of the local favourite BMW entries, operated by the Team WRT concern based just a few miles from the circuit; the #20 M Hybrid V8 of René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde just outpaced the sister #15 car of home hero Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen, which sat seventh
Rounding out the top ten in the first practice session were the second #007 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble, the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 and the 2025-winning #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P
The running was interrupted by a brief Full Course Yellow called to remove debris from the track, prior to concluding with a red flag in the final minute due to the stranded #92 Porsche at the exit of the Fagnes Chicane
LMGT3
Racing Team Turkey by TF continued to show significant potential as Salih Yoluç, Charlie Eastwood and Peter Dempsey headed the times in an immensely close LMGT3 category
The Turkish flag-entered Corvette peaked on a 2m18.034s lap claimed by Eastwood, but its session was not without drama after Dempsey indulged in a quick spin at Les Combes prior to continuing without issue
Ferrari started strongly, with the #21 VISTA AF Corse 296 Evo of Simon Mann, François Hériau and Alessio Rovera just 0.366s off the pace-setting Corvette; Rovera, a former winner at Spa, registered the peak time of 2m22.047s
The Garage 59 McLaren claimed third position with the #10 car that set pole at Imola last month; a best time of 2m18.504s set by Tom Fleming completed a solid session for the squad
The Akkodis ASP Team-run Lexus placed fourth, with its #87 car crewed by José María López, Petru Umbrărescu and Clemens Schmid posting a best of 2m18.565s
Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG made it five manufacturers inside the top five positions, with the #61 entry of Martin Berry, Rui Andrade and local legend Maxime Martin ending the session on a 2m18.763s
That time was two tenths quicker than the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, with the British marque the only manufacturer to get two cars into the top six during the session
The second Free Practice session at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa is scheduled for 15:40 local time.
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