The Belgians ready for the mass of European resistance

Obviously, the LMP2s and LMP3s are no longer the same monsters that Group C was in their day, but these prototypes still make you shiver with screeching noise and lap times just short of their predecessors. In the premier category, Ugo de Wilde starts with the ambition to finish in the top 5. In any case, it will not be worse than last year for the brussels who, enrolled in LMP3, had seen an inexperienced teammate put his Ligier in the Stavelot Wall. The fact remains that in the cool Ardennes, de Wilde suffered in the same way as other competitors who competed with eggs. “Not the expected dayblows the driver of the local team Mühlner Motorsports. We changed the set-up and weren’t able to get the tires to work well on Friday during FP1. I felt like I was driving on ice, it was so slippery, it also cost me some lap time due to the track limits. In short, it was complicated but in the end, overcoming a GT that cost me 8 tenths at Les Combes, I still set the 10th fastest time.“

On the other hand, things went much better for Tom Van Rompuy. Driving the Duqueine LMP3 alone against an army of Ligiers, the Dutchman and Eupen’s team don’t have the law of numbers in their favor. That didn’t stop the black and orange prototype from setting fourth fastest time in the LMP3 class thanks to the efforts of Van Rompuy’s Mexican teammate Sebastian Alvarez. Encouraging beginnings for this team that remains in 2nd place in Barcelona.

In GTE, Alessio Picariello showed once again why Porsche had it so much. The fastest driver in the category, even in front of several LMP3 drivers, Carolo absolutely wants to achieve a result that lives up to his expectations, especially since the crew he is forming with Martin Rump and Andrew Haryanto is very solid. Now we will have to confirm in qualifying this Saturday at 14:25, just like the Iron Dames, of which Sarah Bovy is a part. All eyes were on Liégeoise’s new teammate, the very young Frenchwoman Doriane Pin, who set an excellent 4th time and 2nd of the Ferraristes. Great performance for this little girl that she is only in her second race in GTE.

Let’s not forget to highlight the presence of Mathieu Detry, known in the Fun Cup and in the 24H Series, who took the pole position of the Ligier JS2R in race 1. In the Le Mans Cup, if no Belgian is present, DKR will field two Duqueines there. Finally, the Ferdinand Cup reserved for young Porsches, sees several national gentlemen compete.

All this around the main course, the 4 Hours of Spa, scheduled for Sunday at 11:30.

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