The free practice action in preparation for Sunday’s 6 Hours of Barcelona presented by Visit Qatar continued on Friday afternoon, with the second 90-minute session of the day
In similar conditions to the first session in the morning, the #007 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie led the way following an early time posted by Harry Tincknell in the car he shares with fellow Brit, Tom Gamble
The 1m31.712s effort by the Aston Martin ace was 0.17s quicker than the benchmark set by Robert Kubica in FP1, and a mere 0.038 faster than the second-placed #17 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 Hypercar driven by André Lotterer, ‘Pipo’ Derani and Mathys Jaubert
AF Corse Ferrari continued to pose a threat as the yellow 499P Hypercar took third position, with Kubica peaking on a 1m31.796s to ensure the top three were covered by a scant 0.084s
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA proved it will be a threat this weekend as the squad continues to search for a first win of the season; the #12 V-Series.R piloted by the returning Alex Lynn alongside team-mates Norman Nato and Will Stevens placed fourth
TOYOTA RACING ensured there were five manufacturers inside the top five as the #7 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning TR010 Hybrid headed the second of the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercars
Filling out the top ten in FP2 were the #50 Ferrari, the #8 Toyota, the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo-winning #15 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8 and the #009 Aston Martin
The title-challenging #20 BMW ended the session down in 14th position, while the Peugeot and Alpine entries also sat outside the top ten
LMGT3
The #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Finn Gehrsitz, Alexander West and Benjamin Goethe again proved to be quick as the trio topped the LMGT3 times in FP2
Gehrsitz, who has regrouped after a substantial accident ended his 6 Hours of Fuji last month, set a best lap of 1m41.650 – a time 0.3s quicker than the crew’s nearest challenger, the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F, as Hadrien David, Esteban Masson and Tom Van Rompuy followed up their impressive FP1 run with second place
Third in LMGT3 was the #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG entry, as Matteo Cressoni, Johannes Zelger and Lin Hodenius proved that the three-pointed star could be a package to watch this weekend
Heart of Racing Team found much-improved pace in FP2 compared to the morning session, as the COTA-winning #27 Aston Martin Vantage – driven by Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon – claimed fourth spot on 1m42.285s
The Imola-winning #69 Team WRT BMW of Parker Thompson, Dan Harper and Anthony McIntosh punched in a late lap to seal fifth position
The top six in LMGT3 was completed by the second Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, with José María López setting that car’s quickest lap
The pair of Corvettes had a trying session, as the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF and #33 TF Sport Z06 GT3.Rs wound up just 16th and 17th at the chequered flag
Check out the full FP2 results. The third and final free practice session is scheduled to get underway for LMGT3 competitors at 08:50 local time (CEST) tomorrow (Saturday, 17 October), with the Hypercar FP3 running planned for 12:40.
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