The first 90-minute practice session of the 4 Hours of Imola took place under hot conditions, with an air temperature of 27 degrees and a track temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. Despite a brief interruption due to debris on the track, the session proceeded smoothly.
Algarve Pro Racing’s no47 Oreca emerged as the fastest among the 42 participating cars. Alexander Peroni set an impressive time of 1m32.845 early in the session, which remained unmatched by the other competitors. The nearest rival was the no31 TDS Racing X Vaillante Oreca, with Mathias Beche finishing 0.184s behind Peroni. Prema Racing followed closely behind in third place after Louis Deletraz recorded a best time of 1m33.038, just 0.009s behind Beche.
The top six cars in the session were separated by less than half a second, with the no22 United Autosports Oreca placing fourth, followed by the no37 Cool Racing and the no88 AF Corse Orecas.
LMP3 and LMGTE Categories
In the LMP3 category, the no17 Cool Racing Ligier driven by Round 1 winner Malthe Jakobsen claimed the top spot. Jakobsen posted a lap time of 1m38.666, finishing 0.078s ahead of the second-fastest car, the no10 Eurointernational Ligier driven by Xavier Lloveras. The following three cars were separated by a mere 0.028s, with the no3 United Autosports Ligier, no14 Inter Europol Competition Ligier, and no27 Cool Racing Ligier taking third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.
In the LMGTE category, the no18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 led the way with Alessio Picariello setting a session best time of 1m41.801s. The no83 Iron Lynx Ferrari F488 GTE EVO driven by Michelle Gatting finished in second place, just 0.004s ahead of the no95 Oman Racing with TF Sport Vantage piloted by Jonny Adam. The no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Mikkel Jensen rounded out the top four.
The second Free Practice session for the 4 Hours of Imola is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 09:30 (CEST), followed by qualifying at 14:05.
CLICK HERE for the result from Free Practice 1
