Haase keeps Comtoyou Racing Audi on top as chequered flag falls on first day of official Prologue

Haase keeps Comtoyou Racing Audi on top as chequered flag falls on first day of official Prologue

Comtoyou Racing remained on top in this afternoon's second test session at Spa-Francorchamps, continuing the Belgian outfit's impressive form at the official Prologue.

The Audi team is set to make its CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa debut this year, though it has assembled a vastly experienced crew to tackle the twice-around-the-clock race. Among them is 2017 winner Christopher Haase, who delivered the best time in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

After topping a rain-affected morning run with a 2m18.525s, the German driver went almost two seconds faster in the afternoon, aided by dry conditions that prevailed after the lunch break to set a 2m16.741s. The sister #12 Comtoyou Racing Audi and the #92 Manthey EMA Porsche also spent time at the top of the order, though Haase had an answer for both. 

The class leaders for the afternoon session were the #62 Team Parker Racing Porsche in the Bronze Cup (P3 overall); the #12 Comtoyou Racing Audi in the Silver Cup (P7 overall); the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG in the Gold Cup (P10 overall); and the #70 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini in Pro-Am (P12 overall). 

While the morning session was largely quiet, the longer afternoon run was interrupted by several red flags. The first was for #89 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG, which hit the outer barrier at Raidillon, damaging the front and rear of the car. Soon after, the #58 Grasser Racing Lamborghini found itself beached in the gravel at Les Combes; there was no damage, though the incident still required another red. 

Bullitt Racing was the next – and suffered the most damage – as its #33 Aston Martin had a big off at the top of the Raidillon. The #23 Grove Racing Porsche was hit with a puncture, while the #38 ST Racing with Rinaldi Ferrari came to a halt at the final chicane. The last stoppage was caused by the #9 Boutsen VDS Audi going off at Pouhon, though the car was undamaged. In all instances, the drivers were able to walk away. 

Cars will be back on-track tomorrow morning for the second and final day of testing. The schedule is the same as that used today, running from 09:00–12:00 and 13:00-18:00. Once again, the circuit will be open to the public at no cost.

> Session 2 Result