The first track session for the 4 Hours of Monza, which took place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, saw the no34 Racing Team Turkey Oreca-Gibson dominate the time sheets. The teams are preparing for Sunday’s race, and the first practice session saw Jack Aitken posting a 1m38.690 lap time around the 5.793km Monza circuit. The no88 AF Corse Oreca was just four tenths behind, with the fastest time set by Nicklas Nielsen. The no65 Panis Racing Oreca of Job Van Uitert was third quickest, just 0.02s ahead of the no22 United Autosports Oreca of Tom Gamble. The top 10 cars were separated by just over one second at the end of the 90-minute session.
DKR Engineering Reigns Supreme in LMP3 Category
The reigning LMP3 champions DKR Engineering were the quickest of the 13 cars in that class during the first practice session. Sebastian Alvarez set a 1m44.776 lap, just 0.084s ahead of the no13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Nicolas Pino. The no2 United Autosports Ligier of Finn Gehrsitz was third quickest with a 1m44.968. The top 8 cars were separated by just over 0.9 seconds.
The LMP3 category is expected to be highly competitive, with the top teams vying for the top spot. The DKR Engineering team has shown that they are a force to be reckoned with, and it remains to be seen if any team can challenge their dominance in the upcoming races.
The second Free Practice session for the 4 Hours of Monza will take place at 09h00 on Saturday 2 July.
Alessio Picariello Leads the LMGTE Category
The fastest car in the LMGTE category was the no18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 of 2020 ELMS champion Alessio Picariello. The Belgian driver posted a 1m48.851 lap time, outpacing the no77 Proton Competition Porsche of Lorenzo Ferrari by 0.271s. The top Ferrari was the no60 Iron Lynx 488 GTE EVO of Davide Rigon, the Italian finishing the session third fastest, 0.409s behind the leading Porsche and 0.290s ahead of the no93 Proton Competition Porsche.
The LMGTE category is shaping up to be a highly competitive one, with the top teams battling it out for the top spot. Alessio Picariello has shown that he is a formidable force in the category, posting the fastest lap time in the first practice session. However, with the second Free Practice session taking place on Saturday, it remains to be seen if Picariello can maintain his lead in the category.
The teams are gearing up for the 4 Hours of Monza, which promises to be an exciting race. With the first practice session providing a glimpse of what’s to come, fans can look forward to a thrilling weekend of motorsport action.
CLICK HERE for the result from FP1 at Monza
