The Headlines after FP3 at Monza
- The final free practice session took place ahead of qualifying for tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Monza as the 35 competitors again took to a wet track in cool conditions at the Temple of Speed, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza
- Several cars took turns at the head of the times in the first half of the session with Malthe Jakobsen initially setting the pace in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar
- But it was the sister #93 Peugeot driven by Nick Cassidy that claimed the best lap with a last ditch best time of 1m42.706s to ensure the Kiwi topped his first ever WEC Hypercar session
- There was also though a late investigation in to the #93 car’s tyre pressures immediately after the session ended
- Cassidy’s lap was a mere 0.040s quicker than the Victor Martins driven Alpine A424, which will compete in its final WEC race tomorrow. Martins punched in a 1m42.746s to continue his excellent rookie’s form
- The #83 AF Corse Ferrari ensured the Tifosi was warmed up sufficiently for the qualifying action as Robert Kubica set the third fastest time in the distinctive yellow 499P
- BMW took fourth position as the #20 car driven by Sheldon van der Linde registered another late lap as the track dried slightly. That car survived a trip down the escape road earlier when Robin Frijns struggled under braking
- The #50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen ended up fifth just ahead of the #19 Genesis Magma Hypercar which completed the top six
- There was drama at the Parabolica after 15 minutes of the session when the Robert Kubica driven #83 AF Corse Ferrari and the #007 Aston Martin of Tom Gamble collided, with the Valkyrie spinning but was able to continue unscathed. The Aston Martin was later given a 10-second stop/go penalty for triggering the altercation
- There were several other off-track excursions during the session with championship points leading #8 Toyota TR010 skating across the gravel at the Ascari Chicane and the #36 Alpine driven by Victor Martins briefly went off at the Parabolica after almost tripping over the #33 TF Sport Corvette
- The #17 Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar also took to the escape road at the Rettifilo Chicane with Pipo Derani managing to re-join without significant issue.
- That corner was also the site of Sebastien Bourdais enduring a trip across the kerbs in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Hypercar he shares with Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken. The #12 also had a couple of incidents, including a spin at the Parabolica but continued largely unaffected
- There were issues for the reigning champion #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499 Hypercar as it only completed seven laps in the session after a brake-by-wire issue confined it to the pit garage for the majority of the session
LMGT3
- Alessio Rovera took the bragging rights In the LMGT3 category as Ferrari gave the large number of fans a boost in FP3
- The Italian peaked on a 1m56.069s lap in the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 he shares with Francois Heriau and Simon Mann
- Rovera’s time was threatened in the final minutes of the drying session with Maxime Martin coming closest in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes. The Belgian stopped the clocks on a 1m56.351s lap.
- That Mercedes had survived a wild ride across the gravel trap earlier in the session when Martin Berry over cooked it on the exit of the Ascari Chicane
- The #79 Iron Lynx continued to show strong pace as Matteo Cressoni posted a 1m56.442s lap to ensure the pair of Iron Lynx cars were in the top three positions
- Title chasing TF Sport took fourth position as Jonny Edgar, Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg continued to prepare for what could be the teams and Edgar’s crowning ceremony tomorrow afternoon
- BMW claimed fifth place with the #32 M4, while the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus LMGT3 completed the top six LMGT3 positions
- There was trouble for the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette when Perter Dempsey spun at the Ascari Chicane and was temporarily stranded on the track. The Irish ace was able to re-start and get back to the pits.
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