Friday practice: Audis take control
Audi's pair of works R8s topped the Friday time sheets in practice for Sunday's European Le Mans Series round at Jarama

The Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro car pipped the Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen example by 0.414s, but the Gulf-backed car of Stefan Johansson/Guy Smith was just 0.638s off the leading pace.
Jan Magnussen and David Brabham showed that progress is being made with the recalcitrant Panoz by setting a time 1.617s off the benchmark, but as the last chance to fine-tune cars before the Le Mans 24 Hours, it was not the quantum leap needed to be truly competitive.
Pobst and Collard headed the GT class in their Porsche, with Bruno Lambert and Ian McKellar the best GTS entry in their Saleen S7 heading in to Saturday's qualifying session for the second ELMS round of the season.
Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro, Audi R8 (LMP900), 1m24.461s
Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen, Audi R8 (LMP900), +0.414s
Stefan Johansson/Guy Smith, Audi R8 (LMP900), +0.638s
Jan Magnussen/David Brabham, Panoz LMP07 (LMP900), +1.617s
Klaus Graf/Franck Lagorce, Panoz LMP07 (LMP900), +3.344s
Didier de Radigues/Eric van der Poele, Reynard-Judd (LMP675), +4.518s
Randy Pobst/ Emmanuel Collard, Porsche 911 GT3RS, +9.834s
Bruno Lambert/Ian McKellar Jr, Saleen S7R, +10.070s

Race: Ferraris rule again at Spa
Qualifying: Joest Audis dominate at the top

Latest news
Auer to miss Bathurst, Craft-Bamboo seeking replacement
Craft-Bamboo Racing is on the hunt for a driver for next week's Bathurst 12 Hour after Lucas Auer was injured in a practice crash in Daytona.
Daytona 24: Ganassi Cadillacs top final GTP practice at Daytona
Renger van der Zande produced the fastest lap for Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac in the new GTP class’s final systems check before tomorrow’s 61st Daytona 24 Hours.
Foyt changes IndyCar number amid "symbolic references" debacle
AJ Foyt Racing has changed the number of Benjamin Pedersen's 2023 IndyCar entry from #88 to #55, after finding its two cars' numbers held "certain ideological and symbolic references".
Taylor: Reset button will be "worn out" but better than limp mode in Daytona 24
Ricky Taylor has zero worries over the pace of the new Acura ARX-06, but believes the new GTP cars will encounter several sensor issues over the course of the Daytona 24 Hours.
The F1 technology behind Mercedes’ Nordschleife record hypercar
It’s taken over half a decade of development but now the Mercedes-AMG One is here – boasting 1048bhp from a Formula 1-based hybrid powertrain and smashing the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for a production car with Maro Engel at the wheel last month. ROBERT HOLMES wonders if it can now claim to be the ultimate hypercar...
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.