The Mentos Racing driver is making his championship debut in southern France but drove like a seasoned pro to lap in 2m07.420s – 1.2s faster than yesterday’s best – after the session had been temporarily halted at the halfway mark to clear Jean-Paul Buffin’s stranded Mercedes.
Double Brands Hatch race winner Michal Broniszewski was Perfetti’s closest challenger 0.3s back, although the Kessel Racing Ferrari looked capable of going quicker before traffic in the final sector of a subsequent flying lap spoilt his chances.
A late lap from debutant and Mercedes driver Daniel Vogt made it three different manufacturers inside the top-three. He was followed by AKKA ASP’s Maurice Ricci and Egidio Perfetti’s brother Daniele, who was a late addition to the Paul Ricard entry list.
Patrick Van Glabeke’s Ferrari 488 GT3 had held sway before the short red flag period before slipping to sixth, while championship leader Mario Cordoni could manage no better than seventh despite provisionally holding pole position with eight minutes remaining.
The distinctive ‘green zebra’ Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 driven by Coach McKansy completed the top-eight ahead of Iron Cup pace-setter Martin Lanting’s AF Corse-run Ferrari 458 GTE, which finished one position and 0.768s faster than class rival Marc Sourd’s CMR Mercedes.
Iron Cup championship leader Stephen Earle has his work cut out to catch Lanting after only managing third in class and 15th overall.
Despite a number of changes to the previously published entry list, the Blancpain GT Sports Club will still feature a record 29 cars when this morning’s 25-minute Qualifying Race gets underway at 11:10 local time. Watch it live at www.blancpainsportsclub.com/gt/live.