Barcelona Friday Journal

***The track layout being used by the FIA World Endurance Championship for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Barcelona is different to the one used for its visit in the summer of 2019 for the Prologue test, with the new layout measuring 4.655 km, compared to 4.657 km seven years ago. The major changes concern Turn 10, which now has a longer, more rounded profile, and the elimination of the much-disliked chicane at Turn 13.

***Hypercar lap times on Friday lagged around 2.5 seconds behind the benchmark time set in 2019 by Jose Maria Lopez in a Toyota TS050 Hybrid, a 1:29.141, although LMGT3 lap times were around two seconds faster than the equivalent best time in GTE-Pro, set by Miguel Molina in a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

***Aston Martin’s Harry Tincknell expressed optimism of another strong weekend after setting the fastest time in Free Practice 2: “For the last three races we’ve had good Fridays and they’ve led into good weekends and good pace as well, so hopefully that will follow here. We’re positive we can be right at the front, we have been improving the Valkyrie every race. But it’s not easy out there; it’s very low grip, everyone is sliding around, and easy to make mistakes, so we have to stay sharp and keep working hard.”

***Mathys Jaubert was second-fastest for Genesis Magma Racing in FP2, 0.038 seconds shy of Tincknell’s benchmark. “We learned many things today,” he said. “There is not much grip and the degradation is very high. So now it’s about how we balance the tire deg between front and rear, and the tire strategy for the race. We did a qualifying sim that put us P2 with some margin so the car seems pretty good, especially on one lap, and even on degradation it seems competitive, so let’s see.”

***While Friday’s two sessions passed largely without incident, Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO driver Ben Tuck was issued a warning for contact with Francesco Castellacci’s AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo during FP1 at Turn 5, while BMW Hypercar driver Raffaele Marciello was reprimanded for contact with Peter Dempsey’s TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Turn 7 in FP2.

***The four drivers who are doing double duties across Barcelona and the clashing Portimao round of GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, Thomas Fleming, Benjamin Goethe, Mattia Drudi and Darren Leung, all skipped both sessions in Spain, instead focusing on qualifying in Portugal.

***Ferrari’s last test at Barcelona was in 2024, according to the brand’s chief designer and governance relations manager Mauro Barbieri, who said that scheduling a pre-event test at the Spanish venue was not a priority. “Testing days are quite limited and you need to make your choices,” he told assembled reporters. “And we try to prioritize what we believe deserves the highest priority.” “So we didn’t have a chance to come here.”

***Ferrari will however stay on at Barcelona for a single day test on Tuesday, although Barbieri would not confirm whether the 2027-spec 499P Evo will be seen.

***Barbieri believes that both the track layout and expected high tire degradation could prove well-suited to the 499P, which traditionally excels in high-speed corners. “One of the areas where I feel that we improved as a package since 2023 is tire management and tire usage in the race,” he said. “So I think a high-degradation track can be a bit more favorable to us. And then, the car seems to like these medium to high-speed corners and we have a few here. Hopefully, it’s a track where our car can perform at its best.”

***Toyota, meanwhile, last tested at Barcelona in 2021, when Ryo Hirakawa was auditioning for a race drive for the following season. Since then, Hirakawa has returned to the circuit for two Formula 1 Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) outings and a Free Practice session for Haas in last year’s Spanish Grand Prix.

***On his impressions of returning to the track, Hirakawa told Sportscar365: “It’s hard on the tires; there is quite a lot of degradation. I drove second [in FP1] and I already had massive deg from the start. It’s a bit like Bahrain in that sense. Looking at the average over 25, 30 laps, we were one of the best, so we would prefer a dry race.”

***Andre Lotterer has revealed that this weekend’s race will be his first ever at Barcelona, a track he has bizarrely never raced at in his near-30 year career, although he has made numerous testing appearances there, including with current employer Genesis.

***Signatech Alpine boss Philippe Sinault believes the performance of the team at Fuji, when it ran 1-2 until a safety car in the closing stages enabled others to diverge on strategy, proved that its decision to run only two drivers per car was the correct one. Alpine will continue with that approach for the remainder of the season with Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg sharing the No. 35 Alpine A424 and Jules Gounon and Victor Martins the No. 36 machine.

***Sinault told Sportscar365: “We are still convinced it’s the best way in terms of performance because you have more track time, especially in free practice, and you have seen the level of Victor for example at Fuji. Without this strategy, it would not be the same result.”

***He added that the decision to bench Antonio Felix da Costa and Frederic Makowiecki was “difficult because you have the human side.” Da Costa subsequently left the team ahead of his move to Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA for next year, while Sinault said that Makowiecki remains part of the squad and could be called up if required.

***Sportscar365 understands the race engineer for Alpine’s No. 35 car, David Ladouce, is on his way to Peugeot next season. Ladouce previously ran the No. 5 car at Porsche Penske Motorsport before joining Alpine for the current campaign.

***Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo driver Finn Gehrsitz is hoping to bounce back in Barcelona from the “first big shunt of my career” at Fuji last time out. He was battling with the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi when they locked wheels approaching the first corner, which sent Gehrsitz heavily into the barriers.

***The McLaren driver said: “It was a tough fight even though it was for P11, but nevertheless you try to gain every position. It was such a small contact that had such a big influence in the end — I wasn’t expecting something like this. But you go racing and it can happen. Now it’s time to attack again.”

***Meanwhile, Zach Robichon admits that the No. 27 Vantage crew is coming to Barcelona with “subdued” expectations for a result after its unexpected second-place finish at Fuji, which has further increased the car’s success ballast.

***Robichon told Sportscar365: “It’s easy to feel this weekend is going to be a bit of a write-off considering the success ballast we are carrying, two podiums, and now second in the championship. That said, we probably didn’t think we had any chance in Fuji, and we finished P2, so it shows anything is possible. We are probably hoping for rain on Sunday right now. It hurts less those in those conditions.”

***Saturday’s track schedule features a unique split arrangement between the LMGT3 and Hypercar runners, designed to help those racing in Portimao in the evening. FP3 for LMGT3 opens the day at 8:50 a.m. local time (2:50 a.m. EST), with qualifying for the lower class taking place at 11:50 a.m. (5:50 a.m. EST).

***The Hypercars begin their running with FP3 at 12:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m. EST), with qualifying following at 3:40 p.m. (9:40 a.m. EST).

Stephen Lickorish contributed to this report