FP1: Inter Europol Competition Fastest in First Session
Team Virage and United Autosports fastest in LMP3 and GT respectively
The first 90-minute Free Practice session of the final weekend of the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series in Abu Dhabi saw the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson head the timing screens ahead of the no4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca.
The session saw two red flags to recover cars that had gone off and to repair the techno barriers that had done their job in absorbing the impacts.
It was Nolan Siegel who posted the fastest time with a 1m40.966 lap of the 5.281km Yas Marina Circuit, finishing 0.128s ahead of Malthe Jakobsen in the Crowdstrike Oreca. Championship leaders Cetilar Racing, who are tied on 80-points with Crowdstrike Racing by APR but lead on countback, finished in third place thank to a 1m41.161 lap set by Charles Milesi, 0.067s behind their championship rivals.
The no5 United Autosports finished 4th, ahead of the no44 ARC Bratislava and no22 Proton Competition Orecas.
The no8 Team Virage Ligier-Toyota was the fastest of the ten LMP3 cars, with Vic Stevens setting a 1m50.478, 0.3 seconds ahead of the no23 23Events Racing Ligier of Matteo Quintarelli. The no85 R-ace GP Duqueine finished the session in third spot, with a 1m50.929 set by Pierre-Alexandre Provost. However, Zack Scoular went off into the barriers late in the session, causing the second of the two red flags, with the Duqueine taking no further part in the session.
Championship leaders CLX Motorsport finished 7th in the session, while their nearest rivals in the no13 Inter Europol Competition finished 10th.
The GT field was headed by the no59 United Autosports McLaren with Wayne Boyd lapping in 1m53.420, just 0.043s ahead of the second fastest car in the class, the no34 Racing Team Turkey Corvette driven by Charlie Eastwood.
The no56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage was third fastest, with Kobe Pauwelssetting the best lap of 1m53.482, 0.062s behind the McLaren and 0.019s behind the Corvette.
The championship leading no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari was fourth fastest, with a 1m53.530 lap set by Dennis Marshall. The no37 QMMF by Getspeed Mercedes-AMG made it five different manufacturers in the top 5, with Lucas Auer setting the best time of 1m53.554. Incredibly, the top five cars were split by just 0.134s at the end of the 90-minute session.
The second Free Practice session will take place at 19h45 (local).
CLICK HERE for the result from FP1.
