Jules Gounon reaffirmed his status as a master of Circuit Paul Ricard by leading the way in this morning's Free Practice. The Mercedes-AMG ace posted a 1m53.912s during the latter stages of the two-hour session.
The first opportunity for the full field to sample the track proved typically competitive, with less than one second covering the top 36 cars when the chequered flag fell.
That Gounon should be the quickest was no surprise. Whether in Bentley or Mercedes-AMG machinery, the French-Andorran has often been the star of qualifying at this circuit. Judging by his pace this morning, a change of team over the winter – from Akkodis ASP to GetSpeed – has been a seamless transition.
Series newcomer 2 Seas Motorsport made it a Mercedes-AMG one-two with Martin Kodrić at the wheel of its #60 machine. The Croatian was a tenth shy of Gounon and led the Gold Cup class in the process. A pair of BMW entries followed, with the #32 Team WRT M4 marginally ahead of the #98 ROWE Racing machine.
Fifth overall went to the #188 Garage 59 McLaren thanks to a standout lap from Louis Prette. A 1m54.113s was enough to put the car on top in the Bronze Cup class, while Boutsen VDS placed 10th overall and led the Silver Cup. Roee Meyuhas was at the controls of the #10 Mercedes-AMG.
A total of 52 cars posted a time during the session, leaving two exceptions. The #911 Pure Rxcing Porsche did not make an appearence, while the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin crashed on its first lap out of the pits. This brought out the only red flag of Free Practice, which was followed by almost two hours of clear running. Cars will be back on-track for Pre-Qualifying at 15:05.