Pla leads Zandvoort free practice for AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG

Pla leads Zandvoort free practice for AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG

Jim Pla put AKKA ASP on top in this morning's free practice at Zandvoort by posting a 1.35.193s at the wheel of the #87 Mercedes-AMG 

The event's opening session began on a damp circuit following overnight rain at the Dutch venue, though the combination of 27 GT3 cars and a few sunny spells saw the benchmark time fall throughout the 80-minute run.  

Pla eventually emerged on top in the car he shares with Konstantin Tereschensko. The Silver Cup crew edged the #32 Team WRT Audi of defending champions Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts, the latter having recorded a 1m35.360s to lead until Pla hit the front. 

The sister #31 Team WRT machine was third thanks to Japanese ace Ryuichiro Tomita, putting another Silver Cup runner in the overall top-three. The #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG was fourth with Timur Boguslavskiy at the wheel, followed by the #6 Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT and the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi. 
 
Barwell Motorsport topped the Pro-Am ranks with its #77 Lamborghini. Henrique Chaves logged a 1m36.178s to end the session ninth overall and well clear of his nearest class rival. Full session times can be viewed here

The damp track caught a number of drivers out and resulted in three brief red flags being shown, the last of which ended free practice two minutes early. The #20 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes-AMG also found the barriers at turn three, though this was managed by waved yellows.

Cars will be back on-track this afternoon 14:10 CEST for an 80-minute pre-qualifying session. Live coverage begins on Saturday morning with qualifying (09:00) and then the opening race at 13:30. The same format is repeated on Sunday, with qualifying at 09:00 and the second race at 14:30. All of the action will be streamed live across a variety of platforms, including the GT World YouTube channel.