Porsche Dominates Free Practice 1 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 963 set a commanding benchmark in Free Practice 1 for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, posting a time of 1:25.176. Laurens Vanthoor achieved this mark early in the session, which was the first opportunity for teams to evaluate the newly resurfaced circuit.
The session saw a competitive field with five manufacturers in the top six. The #50 Ferrari 499P finished second, clocking a time of 1:25.260, courtesy of Antonio Fuoco, closely followed by the #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 in third with a time of 1:25.330 set by Rene Rast. The #7 Toyota, last year’s pole sitter with a 1:23.140, and the #15 BMW rounded out the top five, while JOTA’s #38 Cadillac secured sixth.
The #83 AF Corse 499P, the reigning Le Mans champion, managed the eighth fastest time, outperforming competitors like the fastest Alpine (#36), Peugeot (#94), and Aston Martin (#009) that placed ninth, tenth, and eleventh, respectively. Notably, all cars except the #51 Ferrari and #007 Aston Martin were within one second of Vanthoor’s pace. The #007 was hindered by Harry Tincknell’s times being deleted due to pit lane speeding violations, an infraction also committed by Brendon Hartley and Robert Kubica, who received fines.
In the LMGT3 class, AKKODIS ASP’s Lexus RC F GT3s dominated with a 1-2 finish. The #87 car, piloted by Jose Maria Lopez, set a time of 1:35.010, narrowly edging out the #78. The best of the rest was the #33 TF Sport Corvette at 1:35.293, followed by the #10 Racing Spirit of Le Mans Vantage and the #81 TF Corvette.
The session experienced a delay of 17 minutes due to a single incident involving the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari, which suffered a broken driveshaft, resulting in a brief Full-Course Yellow.
Free Practice 2 is scheduled to commence later today at 15:45.
Results Summary
- 1st: #6 Porsche 963 – 1:25.176 (Laurens Vanthoor)
- 2nd: #50 Ferrari 499P – 1:25.260 (Antonio Fuoco)
- 3rd: #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 – 1:25.330 (Rene Rast)
- 4th: #7 Toyota – (reference time 1:23.140)
- 5th: #15 BMW
- 6th: #38 Cadillac
Key Takeaway
Porsche’s strong performance sets a high bar as teams race to adapt to the new circuit conditions ahead of the main event.
