Wendlinger/Sharp fastest in free practice

Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp topped the time sheets in free practice of the FIA GT Championship at the Hungaroring on Saturday morning. After 80 minutes at the 4.318 kilometres long circuit, the K-plus-K-Motorsport Saleen pairing emerged fastest with a lap time of 1:42.984 minutes, set by the Austrian ex-Formula 1 driver. In overcast conditions, Wendlinger was the only driver to lap under 1:43 minutes.

Second fastest time was set by Brazilians Roberto Streit and Enrique Bernoldi with the Sangari Team Brazil Corvette Z06, who were 0.618 seconds down on the leading Saleen. Italian pairing Alessandro Pier Guidi and Matteo Bobbi ended up third with the fastest of the three Vitaphone Maseratis, followed by their team-mates Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini. Driving the Selleslagh Racing Team’s Corvette, Bert Longin and James Ruffier completed the highest number of laps, namely 36, a total distance of 162.097 kilometres. The Belgian-French pairing ended up sixth, setting their fastest lap time of 1:44.799 seconds as the chequered flag was out already. In the closing stages of the session, Ruffier spun once, but managed to continue.

The fastest lap time in the GT2 category was set by the Italian-Spanish pairing of Niki Cadei and Alvaro Barba Lopez with the AF Corse Ferrari F430. Their best lap time of 1:47.800 brought them up in twelfth place overall, just ahead of Luigi Lucchini and Martin Ragginger with the Brixia Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RS, who were 0.239 seconds down on the Ferrari team. Representing the Auto Racing Club Bratislava, Slovakian drivers Miroslav Konopka and Andrej Studenic ended up 14th overall with their Saleen S7. The two are the only entrants in the G2 category.