WEC: Toyota stays on top in second Fuji practice

Toyota Gazoo Racing again took a 1-2 order in the second 90-minute sessions at Fuji Speedway this afternoon. But this time it was the No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar that topped the timing screens.

Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the session which was held in cloudy but dry conditions.

LMGTE Pro was again the domain of AF Corse Ferrari, while in LMP2 it was a stellar session for JOTA as they placed 1-2.

Another incredibly close LMGTE Am category witnessed the top four protagonists separated by just 0.097s!

Hypercar Highlights

  • Kobayashi completes a best lap of 1m29.948s in No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar as it turns tables on No.8 car that led the first free practice session earlier today
  • Kobayashi’s time is over a second faster than Sebastien Buemi’s outright quickest set this morning
  • The No.8 Toyota laps 0.225s off the No.7 car with Brendon Hartley claiming a 1m30.173s lap of the Fuji Speedway
  • Peugeot TotalEnergies reprise FP1 order with No.94 Peugeot 9X8 in third position with Loic Duval stopping clocks on a 1m31.194s best

  • Alpine ELF Team trio of Andre Negrao, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre all get cockpit time during FP2 and place fourth in the Hypercar class
  • The No.93 Peugeot 9X8 is fifth but this time it is Jean-Eric Vergne who emerges fastest

LMGTE Pro Highlights

  • Ferrari continue to set the pace in LMGTE Pro as Alessandro Pier Guidi slams in a 1m38.682s

  • The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari eclipses the No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 by 0.164s as Gimmi Bruni peaks on a 1m37.892s lap
  • Pier Guidi’s laps is enough to outpace the two Porsche 911 RSR-19 entries as Kevin Estre sets best lap in third placed No.92 Porsche
  • No.52 AF Corse takes fourth position with Miguel Molina getting to within 0.046s of Estre’s time
  • Corvette Racing fifth as Tommy Milner sets best time of 1m38.451s in the yellow Chevrolet Corvette C8.R

LMP2 Highlights

  • JOTA surges to the front in LMP2 and complete the session 1-2
  • The table topping No.38 Oreca-Gibson just shades the No.28 sister car with Antonio Felix da Costa setting a 1m32.351s best.

  • Da Costa’s time is 0.142s quicker than Ed Jones’ effort in the car he shares with Oliver Rasmussen and Jonathan Aberdein
  • No.22 United Autosports place third as Filipe Albuquerque sets a 1m32.510s lap
  • But the car is served with a stop/go penalty after it was in contact with the No.46 Team Project 1 Porsche midway through the session
  • Fourth fastest was the FP1 class pace setting AF Corse car as it continued to show strong pace with Nicklas Nielsen again setting the best time

LMGTE Am Highlights

  • Ferrari push to the front in an incredibly close LMGTE Am category as the Iron Dames entry leads the 13 car pack
  • Michelle Gatting on her first visit to Fuji Speedway claims a 1m39.170s best to lead the way
  • Second place is the Iron Lynx Ferrari as Giancarlo Fisichella’s 1m39.185s lap is set just before the TF Sport Aston Martin car that takes exactly the same lap time!
  • For the second time in as many sessions the same lap time to the exact thousandth of a second is made after the same scenario played out in LMP2 between the two United Autosports USA entries
  • Marco Sorensen set his lap of 1m39.185s in the TF Sport Aston Martin to break up the Ferrari’s as in fourth place is the No.54 AF Corse entry
  • The top four in LMGTE Am are separated by a remarkable 0.097s!

Practice 2 Results

Pos No. Class Drivers Car Time Behind
1 7 HYPERCAR Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Jose Maria Lopez Toyota GR010 – Hybrid 1’29.948 0.000
2 8 HYPERCAR Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryo Hirakawa Toyota GR010 – Hybrid 1’30.173 0.225
3 94 HYPERCAR Loic Duval/Gustavo Menezes/James Rossiter Peugeot 9X8 1’31.194 1.246
4 36 HYPERCAR Andre Negrao/Nicolas Lapierre/Matthieu Vaxiviere Alpine A480 1’31.362 1.414
5 93 HYPERCAR Paul di Resta/Mikkel Jensen/Jean-Eric Vergne Peugeot 9X8 1’31.539 1.591
6 38 LMP2 Roberto Gonzalez/Antonio Felix da Costa/Will Stevens Oreca 07 1’32.351 2.403
7 28 LMP2 Oliver Rasmussen/Ed Jones/Jonathan Aberdein Oreca 07 1’32.493 2.545
8 22 LMP2 Philip Hanson/Filipe Albuquerque/Will Owen Oreca 07 1’32.510 2.562
9 83 LMP2 François Perrodo/Nicklas Nielsen/Alessio Rovera Oreca 07 1’32.642 2.694
10 31 LMP2 Sean Gelael/Robin Frijns/Dries Vanthoor Oreca 07 1’32.788 2.840
11 41 LMP2 Rui Andrade/Ferdinand Habsburg/Norman Nato Oreca 07 1’32.906 2.958
12 9 LMP2 Robert Kubica/Louis Deletraz/Lorenzo Colombo Oreca 07 1’32.978 3.030
13 10 LMP2 Renger van der Zande/Ryan Cullen/Sébastien Bourdais Oreca 07 1’33.054 3.106
14 23 LMP2 Alex Lynn/Oliver Jarvis/Josh Pierson Oreca 07 1’33.069 3.121
15 34 LMP2 Jakub Smiechowski/Alex Brundle/Esteban Gutierrez Oreca 07 1’33.419 3.471
16 1 LMP2 Lilou Wadoux/Paul-Loup Chatin/Charles Milesi Oreca 07 1’33.773 3.825
17 45 LMP2 Steven Thomas/James Allen/Rene Binder Oreca 07 1’33.854 3.906
18 35 LMP2 Jean Baptiste Lahaye/Matthieu Lahaye/François Heriau Oreca 07 1’35.512 5.564
19 51 LMGTE PRO Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’37.682 7.734
20 91 LMGTE PRO Gianmaria Bruni/Richard Lietz Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’37.846 7.898
21 92 LMGTE PRO Michael Christensen/Kevin Estre Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’37.892 7.944
22 52 LMGTE PRO Miguel Molina/Antonio Fuoco Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’38.019 8.071
23 64 LMGTE PRO Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy Chevrolet Corvette C8.R 1’38.451 8.503
24 85 LMGTE AM Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting/Sarah Bovy Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’39.170 9.222
25 60 LMGTE AM Claudio Schiavoni/Matteo Cressoni/Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’39.185 9.237
26 33 LMGTE AM Ben Keating/Henrique Chaves Jr./Marco Sorensen Aston Martin Vantage AMR 1’39.185 9.237
27 54 LMGTE AM Thomas Flohr/Francesco Castellacci/Davide Rigon Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’39.267 9.319
28 46 LMGTE AM Matteo Cairoli/Mikkel Pedersen/Nicolas Leutwiler Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’39.335 9.387
29 86 LMGTE AM Michael Wainwright/Riccardo Pera/Benjamin Barker Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’39.346 9.398
30 71 LMGTE AM Franck Dezoteux/Pierre Ragues/Gabriel Aubry Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’39.408 9.460
31 777 LMGTE AM Satoshi Hoshino/Tomonobu Fujii/Charlie Fagg Aston Martin Vantage AMR 1’39.451 9.503
32 77 LMGTE AM Christian Ried/Sebastian Priaulx/Harry Tincknell Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’39.572 9.624
33 98 LMGTE AM Paul Dalla Lana/David Pittard/Nicki Thiim Aston Martin Vantage AMR 1’39.625 9.677
34 56 LMGTE AM Takeshi Kimura/Ollie Millroy/Ben Barnicoat Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’39.748 9.800
35 88 LMGTE AM Fred Poordad/Patrick Lindsey/Jan Heylen Porsche 911 RSR – 19 1’39.832 9.884
36 21 LMGTE AM Simon Mann/Christoph Ulrich/Toni Vilander Ferrari 488 GTE EVO 1’39.917 9.969