6H COTA: Rebellion quickest in FP1; Aston Martin top in LMGTE Pro
The Lone Star Le Mans, round 5 of the FIA World Endurance Championship is underway in Austin, Texas, the first visit to the USA for the championship ahead of SuperSebring in March.
In very cool conditions, the 30 cars took to the 3.41 mile (5.4km) track for the first free practice session. The main headlines from FP1 can be found below.
LMP1
• Rebellion Racing place top in LMP1 as home driver Gustavo Menezes sets best time of 1:49.957 at the wheel of the No. 1 Rebellion R13 Gibson he shares with Bruno Senna and Norman Nato
• Toyota Gazoo Racing’s No. 8 car second quickest with Sébastien Buemi at the wheel, 0.175s behind Menezes
• No. 7 car slowest out of the LMP1 entries with the sister Toyota TS050 Hybrid car posting a fastest lap time of 1:52.460
Lone Star Le Mans #6hCOTA FP1, leaders of each class
— WEC 🤠 (@FIAWEC) February 22, 2020
LMP11: #1 @RebellionRacing
LMP21: #22 @UnitedAutosport
GTE-Pro1: #97 @AMR_Official
GTE-Am1: #77 @PatrickDempsey @ProtonRacing #WEC pic.twitter.com/Bq9updyiWD
LMGTE Pro
• In LMGTE Pro Aston Martin Racing led the way, with Maxime Martin setting a lap of 2:01.838 in the No.97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR he shares with Alex Lynn
• Martin’s lap was 0.39s ahead of the No.51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
• In third position was the second AF Corse Ferrari with a time of 2:02.276. Fourth, fifth and sixth places were filled by Porsche GT Team and Aston Martin Racing respectively
• Corvette Racing’s new Chevrolet Corvette C8.R took its time to find its marks around the COTA track, but is sure to figure amongst its competitors in the sessions to come
LMP2
• United Autosports top LMP2 times as Filipe Albuquerque sets the pace early in the session with a time of 1:50.488 – just 0.531s off the No. 8 Toyota in LMP1
• Jackie Chan DC Racing second quickest as Will Stevens posted a second-fastest time of 1:50.669 in the session’s final lap
• Third in LMP2 was Signatech Alpine Elf as André Negrão set a time of 1:50.954
• After 13 laps, Racing Team Nederland’s left-rear wheel came off at T5, enforcing a Full Course Yellow for 12 minutes
Green! Green! Green! The winter break is over, Lone Star Le Mans FP1 has started! 🥰#WEC #6HCota pic.twitter.com/Lw4oGmaWmy
— WEC 🤠 (@FIAWEC) February 22, 2020
LMGTE Am
• The No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR proved the car to beat as Matt Campbell set a fastest time of 2:02.742 in the session’s closing stages
• The sister No.88 Dempsey Proton Racing car of Austin resident Bret Curtis, Adrien de Leener and Thomas Preining was second fastest with a time of 2:02.911
• Third quickest was the No.86 Gulf Racing entry – Ben Barker setting the best lap in another Porsche 911 RSR
Full times from FP1 can be found HERE.
The second Free Practice session scheduled for 12h45 local time this afternoon.
