Welcome to racing in the dark, and racing in the rain! The closed cockpits of the Aston Martins, Corvette, Ferraris and Porsches of the LMGTE Pro and Am classes were at least afforded some protection in tonight’s rain-delayed 90-minute night practice session – something the drivers from some of their LMP2 competitors were without.
The lightning and thunder of a severe storm overhead the Circuit of The Americas delayed the start of the session for an hour, but with a night race looming on Saturday it is mandatory that all drivers have to complete three timed laps in the dark. The session therefore started under very wet track conditions.
Porsche’s two 911 RSR ended the session at the head of the timesheets in the LMGTE Pro category, Fred Makowiecki in the No.92 having set a best lap of 2:17.588. Until the final minutes of the session it had been a 1-2 for Porsche Team Manthey, Nick Tandy in the No.91 behind his team mate. However, AF Corse’s Gianmaria Bruni in the No.51 Ferrari 458 Italia broke up the pairing with a lap of 2:18.195. The only red flag of the session came just 15 minutes after the start in order to clear a stranded No.71 Ferrari from the side of the track due to a rear suspension problem.
In LMGTE Am, Aston Martin Racing once again led the way. Richie Stanaway was the man to beat in the No.95 Vantage V8 with a flying, wet lap of 2:24.111 ahead of Christoffer Nygaard in the No.98 entry. Prospeed Competition’s Matthieu Vaxivière, making his return to the FIA WEC for the first time after a back injury sustained in single-seater racing in May, set the third quickest time in the class.
A third, one-hour practice session will take place tomorrow from 10:20-11:20 am – the last chance the drivers will have to work on the balance and set up of their cars before the late afternoon qualifying sessions.
Full results can be found HERE
Fiona Miller
