The first 90-minute free practice of the 4 Hours of Portimao saw the no34 Racing Team Turkey post the fastest time, two tenths ahead of the rest of the 41-car field taking part in the finale of the 2022 European Le Mans Series.
Team Turkey takes the lead
Jack Aitken, driving for the no34 Racing Team Turkey, posted a 1m32.592 lap of the 4.653km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, to put the LMP2 Pro-Am leaders 0.237s ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson, with the no31 TDS Racing X Vaillante Oreca of Mathias Beche 0.047s behind the Polish flagged car. Championship leaders Prema Racing were fifth quickest with a 1m33.050, while their only rivals for the 2022 ELMS LMP2 title Panis Racing were 11th fastest with a 1m33.424 lap. The session was highly competitive, with the top 10 cars in the LMP3 class covered by just 0.678s at the end of the 90-minute session.
Team Turkey is off to a strong start in the 4 Hours of Portimao, posting the fastest time in the first free practice session. Jack Aitken drove a 1m32.592 lap of the 4.653km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, putting the LMP2 Pro-Am leaders ahead of the rest of the 41-car field. Championship leaders Prema Racing were fifth quickest with a 1m33.050, while their only rivals for the 2022 ELMS LMP2 title Panis Racing were 11th fastest with a 1m33.424 lap, making for a highly competitive session.
LMP3 and LMGTE categories
In LMP3, the championship leading no13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier was the fastest of the 13 entries after Guilherme Oliveira posted a 1m37.704 on his home track, just 0.019s ahead of their rivals for the title, the no17 Cool Racing Ligier, with Malthe Jakobsen posting a 1m37.723. The top 10 cars in the LMP3 class were covered by just 0.678s at the end of the 90-minute session.
The LMGTE category saw the no95 Oman Racing with TF Sport, the Aston Martin Vantage driven by Jonny Adam, set the fastest time with a 1m41.352, 0.086s ahead of the no18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911, with Estonian Martin Rump posting the best time. The championship-leading no77 Proton Competition Porsche was eighth fastest with Gianmaria Bruni setting a 1m42.031, with championship rivals Kessel Racing fifth fastest with a 1m41.720 and the no60 Iron Lynx Ferrari 9th quickest with a 1m42.107s lap.
The first free practice session saw Team Turkey lead the pack in the LMP2 Pro-Am category, while the LMP3 and LMGTE categories also saw tough competition. The no13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier was the fastest in the LMP3 category, while the no95 Oman Racing with TF Sport topped the LMGTE category. The second and final free practice session will take place tomorrow morning at 11h40, ahead of qualifying for the 4 Hours of Portimao, which will start with the LMGTE category at 16h35.
CLICK HERE for the result from Free Practice 1.
