WEC News: Cadillac on top in 3rd Practice
The #2 Ganassi Cadillac turned the fastest lap of the 19 Hypercars in the final WEC practice session at Qatar, Alex Lynn setting a 1m40.677s time.
For the first time since the beginning of the Prologue test, a manufacturer other than Porsche recorded the top time at the Lusail International Circuit.
That was 0.180 seconds faster than the best of the Porsche Penske Motorsport-run 963s, the No. 6 car in which Matt Campbell enjoyed a short spell atop the times in the early stages of the one-hour session.
The Cadillac’s time is significant. It is not the fastest lap of the week so far, that was set by Kevin Estre in FP2 yesterday.
However, Cadillac has been in the top five in every session and it means that heading into Qualifying an LMH-spec prototype hasn’t topped a session in either the Prologue or during practice.
It is also the second time Cadillac has topped a Free Practice in the WEC, the other occasion being FP3 in Bahrain at the end of last season.
Further down the order, the best of the LMH cars was the #94 Peugeot 9X8 that ended up fifth, half a second off the Cadillac after a qualifying sim early in the session.
The #51 AF Corse Ferrari ended up sixth, with the quickest Toyota down in ninth.
Of the new LMDh prototypes to the WEC, Alpine’s A424 set the fastest times, the #36 slotting in 12th 1.5 seconds off the pace, ahead of the #35 that ended up 13th.
In LMGT3, it was the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 that ended up fastest, Alex Riberas setting the car’s 1:54.963.
“The weekend so far has gone well for us, problem-free. The car is ready, Ian (James) is ready for Qualifying. Hopefully, we have a good starting position for tomorrow,” Riberas said.