Jim Pla & Akkodis-ASP AMG Top Imola Free Practice

Free Practice 1

Jim Pla picked up from where he left off last season by helping the Akkodis-ASP team to top spot in Friday morning’s opening GT4 European Series free practice session at Imola.

The Frenchman, who scored more fastest race laps than any other driver last term, put in his best shortly after a mid-session red flag to put the #87 Mercedes-AMG he shares with Jean Luc Beaubelique at the head of the pack.

The stoppage was called to recover the #3 Team Speedcar Audi being driven by Robert Consani, which had endured a hit with the barriers, ironically while running second-fastest overall.

That opened the door for the #13 Arkadia Racing Alpine shared by Johan Boris Scheier and Pierre-Louis Chovet to sneak into second overall, with Chovet’s best lap falling just 0.034sec shy of top spot. It was enough to put the car on top of the Silver Cup order though. Consani and Benjamin Lariche’s Team Speedcar Audi still did enough to hold third.

Allied Racing’s #22 Porsche 718 Cayman claimed fourth, and second in Pro-Am, thanks to the efforts of Constantin Dressler/Vincent Andronaco, while Racing Spirit of Léman’s #19 Aston Martin Vantage was fifth in the hands of Akhil Rabindra and Tom Canning.

Saintéloc Racing was sixth, with Erwan Bastard/Roee Meyuhas sharing the #14 Audi R8 LMS, just ahead of the second Racing Spirit of Léman Aston driven by Gus Bowers and new team-mate Konstantin Lachenauer.

Simon Gachet put the #81 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes-AMG he shares with Eric Debard eighth, just ahead of Fabien Michal/Gregory Guilvert in the #42 Saintéloc Audi, while Ivan Jacoma and Alex Fontana rounded out the top 10 in the #718 Centri Porsche Ticino Cayman.

Having lifted the Am category title last year, Christophe Hamon and Michael Blanchemain showed they’ve lost none of their edge over the winter break, putting their #69 Team Fullmotorsport Audi R8 LMS top of the class in an impressive 14th overall. The pair just edged out the #89 AGS Events Aston Martin of Julien Lambert and Wilfried Cazalbon in the order, with W&S Motorsport’s Andrey Solukvtsev/Mikhail Loboda putting their #38 Porsche Cayman third.

FREE PRACTICE 1 TIMES >>

Free Practice 2

Jim Pla and Jean Luc Beaubelique completed a free practice clean sweep for Akkodis-ASP at Imola, as Aston Martin Vantage crews thrived, with Team Spirit Racing leading both the Silver Cup and Am categories.

After a relatively quiet start to the session, during which Kenny Herremans led the way in the V8 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, a long full-course yellow to recover the stranded #138 JSB Competition Alpine gave everybody a chance to reset.

Pierre-Louis Chovet made the best of it, being the first to displace Herremans at the top in the #13 Arkadia Racing Alpine, but once again, Pla had an answer, setting first a 1m49.7sec lap, before then carving another few tenths off to become the first driver of the weekend to dip into the low 1m49s with a 49.3sec effort.

That sparked a flurry of improvements as those behind attempted to reel in the runaway Akkodis-ASP Mercedes-AMG. Thijmen Nabuurs put in a great effort to elevate the Team Spirit Racing Aston Martin he shares with Kenton Koch to second overall, and top in Silver Cup, just ahead of the Centri Porsche Ticino Cayman of Ivan Jacoma and Alex Fontana.

Racing Spirit of Léman enjoyed a strong session with its twin Vantages finishing fourth and fifth overall, Gus Bowers/Konstantin Lachenauer edging ahead of Akhil Rabindra/Tom Canning.

Eric Debard and Simon Gachet were sixth in the second Akkodis-ASP Mercedes-AMG, with Simon Tirman and Pierre Sancinena seventh in the #110 Autosport GP Alpine.

Spaniard Lluc Ibañez ran as high as third overall before the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG he shares with Enzo Joulié wound up eighth at the flag. Arkadia Racing’s Johan Boris Scheier and Chovet ended up ninth, with the Saintéloc Audi R8 LMS of Fabien Michal/Gregory Guilvert rounding out the top 10.

It was a double dose of good news for Team Spirit Racing, which also added the top time in the Am category to its Silver Cup success. Henrik Lyngbye Pedersen and Markus Lungstrass slotted the #18 Vantage at the top of the class mid-session and wouldn’t be moved. Christophe Haman/Michael Blanchemain this time had to settle for second in their Team Fullmotorsport Audi R8 LMS, while once again Andrey Solukvtsev/Mikhail Loboda rounded out the top three in their W&S Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman.

FREE PRACTICE 2 TIMES >>