Fuoco flies as Iron Lynx Ferrari tops opening Monza practice

Fuoco flies as Iron Lynx Ferrari tops opening Monza practice

Series newcomer Iron Lynx topped opening practice at Monza to begin Ferrari's Endurance Cup title defence in perfect fashion. 

Antonio Fuoco registered a 1m46.674s early in the 90-minute session and remained well clear for the duration. The Italian squad completed significant morning running, with Davide Rigon and Callum Ilott also taking turns at the wheel of the #71 Ferrari 488 GT3.

The CMR Bentley was second overall and fastest among the Pro-Am runners. French ace Nelson Panciatici set the time – a 1m47.142s – in the #107 car he shares with Gilles Vannelet and Stuart White. The #163 Emil Frey Lamborghini was third thanks to a 1m47.183s from Albert Costa. 

Philip Elis was fourth overall in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, topping the Silver Cup class in the process. The same make of car completed the top-five, with Maro Engel fifth in the freshly liveried #4 HRT machine. Seven different brands were among the top-10, with Audi, Porsche and BMW also showing strong early pace.  

All 43 cars competing this weekend participated in the session, with little over a second covering the top 20. Full session times can be viewed here. The next track action gets underway at 14.05, with pre-qualifying giving competitors another 90 minutes of track time at Monza. Qualifying takes place tomorrow morning at 09.00, while the season-opening race goes green at 15.00.

Away from the circuit, this weekend will also see the launch of the new Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series. All teams with Pro and Silver Cup line-ups must nominate one of their driver to take part, with points on offer towards the overall and Silver teams' championships. Qualifying begins at 18.20 CET, while the race gets underway at 18.55.

As ever, all of the action – real and virtual – will be streamed live on the series' official website and social media channels.