The session started under patchy clouds, the threat of rain still in the air and the track declared wet by race control.
Business as usual for half an hour with teams cycling drivers and lap times falling when the #81 Winward Racing Mercedes lost control through Raidillon and collided heavily with the barriers at the exit of the endurance pits bringing out a red flag. The car sustained significant damage but the driver Gabriel Piana walked away.
The #98 Rowe Racing BMW led the field at this time thanks to a blistering first lap by Raffaele Marciello of 2:17.589, followed by the two AF Corse- Francorchamps Motors Ferraris, #51 driven by Alessio Rovera and #50 driven by Antonio Fuoco.
After around twenty minutes of barrier repairs the green flag was shown with the #65 HRT Ford Performance Mustang still on its jacks in the pit lane and all the front bodywork removed. The team hoped to avoid breaking Park Ferme rules by taking the car into the garage but unfortunately needed to do significant work to the front of the car.
With ten minutes to go the #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren had narrow escape at Speakers Corner, running wide through the gravel on the exit, kissing the barrier.
By now the #65 Mustang had been pushed back in the garage, major works obviously outweighing the upcoming penalties that may be coming.
All ran smoothly for the top three teams (overall and Pro Cup) until the #59 Garage 59 Mclaren driven by Marvin Kirchhofer pushed the #50 Ferrari down to fourth in the last few minutes of the session.
As the session ended under largely clear skies the #98 BMW had an advantage of just two hundredths of a second over the #51 Ferrari with the #59 McLaren a further four hundredths back.
The #100 Beechdean AMR Aston driven by Martin Valentin Hasse-Clot led the ProAM Cup field with the #33 Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin driven by Thierry Vermeulen leading the Gold Cup.
The #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi driven by Alberto di Folco led the Silver Cup and the #27 QMMF By Sainteloc Racing Audi driven by Julian Hanses led the Bronze Cup.
Next up for the teams this evening is the four part Qualifying session. By Melissa Warren
