12.07.2024 - 13h00
Sao Paulo FP1: Peugeot tops the times in shortened session; No. 59 United Autosports McLaren heads LMGT3
Below are the main headlines after the first free practice session at the Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, round five of FIA WEC, which was cut short due to a red flag.
HYPERCAR
- No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 tops the times at a damp FP1 session at Interlagos as Nico Mueller sets best time of 1m26.341s in session that is curtailed by 40mins due to a red flag for an accident suffered by the No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus LMGT3 car
- That time eclipses an early session best lap from Earl Bamber in the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar he shares with Alex Lynn
- The fastest Porsche 963 Hybrid is third in the hands of 2014 6 Hours of Sao Paulo winner and current points table topping driver Andre Lotterer
- Toyota place fourth with its No.8 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar as Sebastien Buemi sets a best of 1m26.777s
- No.83 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye ends session in fifth place just ahead of the No.20 BMW M Team WRT entry making it six different manufacturers in the top six places
- Rounding out the top 10 in FP1 is the No.50 Le Mans winning Ferrari 499P, the No.7 Toyota, No.5 Porsche Penske 963 and Isotta Fraschini Hypercar
It’s time for a São Paulo shakedown.
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) July 12, 2024
The first free practice session of the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo is LIVE! #WEC #6HSaoPaulo pic.twitter.com/XmbyzkjmU5
LMGT3
- No.59 United Autosports McLaren sets fastest time in FP1 as home town hero Nicolas Costa peaks with a 1m35.881s best
- That time is just a mere 0.003s faster than Alex Riberas in the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin
- Fellow Aston Martin team D’Station Racing places third in the hands of Marco Sorensen in car he shares with Clement Marin and Erwan Bastard
- No.60Iron Lynx Lamborghini ends session in fourth position ahead of the similar Iron Dames machine and the No. 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari completes the top six
- Arnold Robin in the No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus LMGT3 crashes heavily at Turn 4 and brings out the red flag to end the session
- Robin is extricated from car for precautionary checks and is being evaluated at the medical centre
Click HERE for session results