Porsche fought back in Free Practice 3 at Nurburgring this morning with a conclusive 1-2 in the 60-minute session.
In cool but dry and sunny conditions, Marc Lieb set a best lap of 1m36.036 in the No.18 Porsche 919 Hybrid. The local ace headed the sister No.17 Porsche 919, which in the hands of Mark Webber stopped the clocks at 1m36.647s.
It wasn’t a trouble free session for Porsche though, as the No.18 Porsche, driven by Romain Dumas at the time, was in a collision with the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari of Francois Perrodo at turn two. Both cars suffered minor damage and were forced to pit after the incident, which was reported to the stewards.
Audi Sport Team Joest finished the session third and fourth although their quickest car, the No.8 Audi R18 etron-quattro, driven by Lucas Di Grassi, was 0.999s away from the ultimate pace set by Lieb’s Porsche 919 Hybrid.
Marcel Fassler placed the No.7 Audi R18 fourth on a 1m37.109s lap. The Swiss driver’s stint at the wheel included a harmless spin at turn two halfway through the session.
Toyota Racing continued to annex the fifth and sixth positions with the No.1 reigning champion car heading the No.2 Toyota TS 040 HYBRID machine by just over a second. Sebastien Buemi and Alex Wurz respectively set the times for Toyota this morning.
Rebellion Racing headed the LMP1 privateers with the No.13 heading the similar No.12 Rebellion R-One-AER. It was a troubled session though for the Anglo-Swiss squad as both Daniel Abt and Alexander Imperatori briefly stopped on the track with technical issues. The ByKolles CLM P1/01 saw a major improvement from yesterday, with Pierre Kaffer setting a time just a few tenths away from the Rebellion pair.
LMP2 saw a change at the head of the field with the No.42 Strakka Gibson finishing the session in P1 with Jonny Kane claiming a 1m45.720s lap. This was just under a tenth of a second faster than Nick Tandy’s late lap in the No.47 KCMG ORECA 05-Nissan. WEC rookie Pipo Derani’s early session time of 1m46.141 was good enough for third quickest.
Ferrari headed the LMGTE Pro class with reigning champion Gianmaria Bruni completing a 1m54.331s lap in the dying moments of the session in the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia.
James Calado driving the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari placed second in the LMGTE Pro class. The British racer bettered the No.99 Aston Martin time set by Alex MacDowell in the last five minutes of the 60-minute session.
The LMGTE Am category was headed by the Abu-Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Le Mans winner Earl Bamber. He set a time one second ahead of the competition on a 1m55.288s.
LMGTE Am title leaders – the No.98 Aston Martin crew of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy suffered a spectacular puncture in the latter stages of the session, with the car sustaining bodywork damage.
Qualifying will get underway at 14.00 local time with two 20-minute sessions split between LMGTE Pro/Am and the LMP1/2 classes.
CLICK HERE for the results of Free Practice 3
Sam Smith
PIT NOTES FROM FP3
2015-08-29 10:36:28;GTE Qualifying starts at 14:00;;;
2015-08-29 10:35:49;In GTE Am Porsche #88 fastest from #98 Aston and #83 Ferrari;;;
2015-08-29 10:34:35;In GTE Pro Ferrari #51 fastest from #71 Ferrari and #99 Aston;;;
2015-08-29 10:33:26;Fastest LMP1 Non Hybrid - Rebellion #13 from Rebellion #12 and CLM #4;;;
2015-08-29 10:32:37;In LMP2 Gibson #42 fastest from #47 Oreca and #28 Ligier;;;
2015-08-29 10:31:28;In LMP1-H Porsche #18 fastest from Porsche #17 and Audi #8;;;
2015-08-29 10:30:20;Chequered Flag;;;
2015-08-29 10:30:07;Aston #98 reported for speeding in pit lane;;;
2015-08-29 10:28:35;1:54.331 fastest for Bruni in Ferrari #51 in GTE Pro;;;
2015-08-29 10:27:22;Ligier #26 under investigation for overtaking under yellow flags;;;
2015-08-29 10:25:53;Porsche #92 black and white flag for track limits violation;;;
2015-08-29 10:24:47;Cars #13 Rebellion and #26 Ligier under investigation for speeding under FCY;;;
2015-08-29 10:21:46;Rebellion #13 stopped again at Turn 10 but restarts;;;
2015-08-29 10:21:02;Fastest LMP1-Non Hybrid time for Rebellion #13 with 1:43.504;;;
2015-08-29 10:16:29;1:54.803 for MacDowall in Aston #99 - All class fastest times now faster than FP1 & FP2;;;
2015-08-29 10:09:44;Green Flag again;;;
2015-08-29 10:09:30;Aston #98 returns to pit on flatbed;;;
2015-08-29 10:08:08;Porsche #18 has new nose cone after incident with #83 Ferrari;;;
2015-08-29 10:04:22;FCY for marshals to remove debris Aston #98 has stopped on circuit;;;
2015-08-29 10:03:13;Porsche's #18 and #17 fastest with 30 minutes to go in FP3;;;
2015-08-29 10:02:04;Aston #98 has front right tyre blow causing much bodywork damage;;;
2015-08-29 10:00:59;Rebellion #13 stopped - Full Course Yellow;;;
2015-08-29 09:59:45;Ferrari #83 has puncture after incident with Porsche #18 which has front right damage and is in pit;;;
2015-08-29 09:57:06;Spin for #42 Gibson at Turn 1 but continues;;;
2015-08-29 09:51:54;1:55.288 for Ried in Porsche #88 fastest in GTE Am;;;
2015-08-29 09:50:38;1:54.955 for Pilet in Porsche #92 fastest in GTE Pro;;;
2015-08-29 09:49:39;1:45.720 for Kane in Gibson #42 fastest in P2;;;
2015-08-29 09:48:44;1:36.036 for Lieb in Porsche #18 now fastest;;;
2015-08-29 09:47:56;Spin for Audi #7 at turn 3 but continued;;;
2015-08-29 09:45:15;All cars have set a timed lap in FP3;;;
2015-08-29 09:42:00;1:56.070 for Bamber in Porsche #88 fastest in GTE Am;;;
2015-08-29 09:41:13;1:55.576 for Turner in Aston #97 fastest in GTE Pro;;;
2015-08-29 09:39:52;1:46.161 for Derani in #28 Ligier fastest in P2;;;
2015-08-29 09:38:53;1:36.727 for Porsche #18 of Dumas;;;
2015-08-29 09:38:04;Audi #7 back into garage after only 1 lap;;;
2015-08-29 09:37:00;1:36.959 for Dumas in Porsche #18 - fastest of meeting so far;;;
2015-08-29 09:31:38;Track temp 17c Air temp 14c with a gentle breeze;;;
2015-08-29 09:30:44;Free Practice 3 Green Flag;;;
