The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor topped both timesheets as the fifth race weekend of the FIA WEC season got underway at Interlagos.
Conditions for the first day of the 6 Hours of São Paulo weekend were warm and sunny, and teams wasted no time attempting to dial in their set-ups for Sunday’s race. Vanthoor’s fastest time of 1:25.176 in FP1 was bettered by Estre in FP2 by almost two seconds (1:23.508) as the on-track running improved grip levels.
Rounding out the top three in FP1 were the #50 Ferrari AF Corse machine and the #20 BMW M Team WRT, just a handful of tenths further back.
Sister Porsche also fast in FP2
Second-fastest in free practice 2 was the #5 sister car of Julien Andlauer and Michael Christensen, with the #15 BMW in third place and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in fourth.
Surprise of the session was the #007 Aston Martin Thor Team Valkyrie, which went fifth-fastest with a 1:24.006.
Lexus appear team to beat in LMGT3
The pair of Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3s went first and second fastest as the French outfit continued their strong season with the Japanese manufacturer. The good form of the #87 and #78 crews continued into FP2, although the #78 crew were pipped to top spot by the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3.
Fans can watch the third free practice session live on YouTube. For a full list of FP1 and FP2 times, click here.
Title image: FIA WEC press materials