Prema Racing showed its dominance by leading in the final free practice session before qualifying for the 4 Hours of Portimao race. The team’s championship leaders set the fastest time in the 90-minute session, with Louis Deletraz clocking in at 1m32.876s. Deletraz’s time was just 0.067s ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi in the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca. Racing Team Turkey clinched the third spot, with Jack Aitken posting a time of 1m32.975s.
With only one point needed to secure the 2022 ELMS LMP2 Driver and Team titles, Prema Racing proved to be the team to beat throughout the session. They showed that they are ready to take on their only championship rival, Panis Racing, who could only manage to finish in 12th place.
DKR Engineering Leads LMP3 Category
DKR Engineering proved to be the fastest of the 13 cars in the LMP3 category. Sebastien Alvarez led the pack with a time of 1m38.424s, just 0.146s ahead of Mateusz Kaprzyk in the no14 Inter Europol Competition Ligier. Alex Kapadia of the no5 RLR MSport Ligier came in third, trailing Kaprzyk by just 0.033s.
While the championship leading no13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier was 5th fastest, the no17 Cool Racing Ligier, their rivals, lagged behind in seventh place.
Alessio Picariello Sets the Pace in LMGTE Category
Alessio Picariello of the no18 Absolute Racing Porsche led the 11 LMGTE cars in the session, setting the pace with a time of 1m41.285s. Richard Lietz of the no93 Proton Competition Porsche came in second, trailing Picariello by 0.298s.
Among the three championship contenders, the no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari was the third fastest, with a time of 1m41.607s. They were just 0.02s ahead of the no77 Proton Competition Porsche, while the no60 Iron Lynx Ferrari lagged behind in seventh place.
The qualifying for the 4 Hours of Portimao race will begin at 16h35, starting with the LMGTE category. The teams will have to bring their A-game to secure their positions on the starting grid.
CLICK HERE for the result from Free Practice 2.
