Franck Perera broke the GT3 lap record during the first day of practice for the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup opener at Misano.
Driving the #84 HTP Motorsport run Mercedes AMG-GT3, Perera turned in a time of 1:32.927s to eclipse last year's pole effort by two tenths of a second.
The Frenchman will team with 2016 series runner up Maximilian Buhk for the 60 minute, two driver race on Sunday.
Second quickest on the opening day of running was Mirko Bortolotti in the #63 Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 shared with Christian Engelhardt.
Bortolotti's time of 1:33.019s was fast enough to top the night session, but couldn't match the early morning pace exhibited by Perera.
Lewis Williamson picked up the third quickest time of the day in one of four Strakka Racing McLaren 650S GT3s, posting a 1:33.208s effort on his Blancpain GT Series debut.
Completing a close-knit top five were the Attempto Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and the #7 M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3.
Tight margins could be found throughout the 34-strong field, with the top 22 teams in the night session separated by less than a second.
The opening round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup gets underway with the qualifying race at 20:40 local time on Saturday, April 1.
