BMW M Team WRT Sets Pace in Free Practice 2 at WEC Lone Star Le Mans
Austin, TX – BMW M Team WRT showcased impressive speed during Free Practice 2 for the WEC Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas. The session saw Sheldon van der Linde pilot the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 to the fastest official lap of 1:51.946, marking him as the first driver to break the 1:52 barrier today.
Following closely, Dries Vanthoor in the #15 BMW posted a time of 1:51.816; however, this was disqualified due to a track limits violation, ultimately placing the car 13th in the Hypercar class.
Antonio Giovinazzi secured second place in the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P with a lap time of 1:52.407, narrowly ahead of Alex Riberas’ #009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie, which recorded a 1:52.463. Kévin Estre in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and Robert Kubica with the #83 AF Corse Ferrari finished fourth and fifth with respective times of 1:52.697 and 1:52.746.
Harry Tincknell’s #007 Aston Martin rounded out the top seven, showcasing the competitiveness of the V12-powered Valkyrie. The top ten consisted of the #50 Ferrari, #7 Toyota GR010–Hybrid, and #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R.
In the LMGT3 category, United Autosports captured first and fourth places, highlighting a notable performance from Silver-graded driver Sean Gelael, who clocked a lap of 2:06.545. Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche followed closely with a time of 2:06.635. The top six times were all set by Silver drivers, indicating a strong grid depth heading into tomorrow’s Hyperpole qualifying session.
The session experienced minimal disruption, briefly halted by a Full Course Yellow to clear the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, which stopped on track. Notably, the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin did not participate following a crash in FP1, and the #81 TF Sport Corvette faced mechanical issues throughout the session.
Free Practice 3 is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:00 AM CT, setting the stage for an intense qualifying round ahead of the 6 Hours of COTA.
