WEC: Toyota on top from the off at Portimao

Toyota Gazoo Racing picked up where it left at Sebring International Raceway, recording two 1-2 finishes in as many free practice sessions held on Friday, ahead of the second round of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Portimao.

1-2S FOR TOYOTA AND PREMA IN FP1
Sebastien Buemi posted the fastest lap of first session with a 1m32.792s lap in the No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar. The Swiss ace got the better of Mike Conway in No.7 machine who set the best lap of 1m33.176s.

Ferrari AF Corse placed a close third with the No.51 Ferrari 499P, with Alessandro Pier Guidi claiming the best lap of 1m33.453s, and placing himself ahead of team-mate Nicklas Nielsen.

Prema Racing enjoyed a 1-2 in LMP2 after 90-minute session. The No.63 car driven by Daniil Kvyat, Doriane Pin and Mirko Bortolotti proved to be the quickest in the class, owing to a 1m34.542 set by Bortolotti. Bent Viscaal placed second with a 1m34.884s, 0.3s off Bortolotti’s best.

Inter Europol Competition continues its strong start to the season with a third best time after the Polish outfit took points for a third-place finish at Sebring. Fabio Scherer claimed the fastest lap in the yellow and green Oreca-Gibson owing to the best tour of 1m34.920s.

Daniel Serra set the pace in LMGTE Am in the Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. The former Aston Martin and Ferrari factory driver lapped in 1m41.341s to beat the Northwest AMR Aston Martin by 0.5s. No.88 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 rounded out the top three as Harry Tincknell’s best lap came within just 0.004s of the No.98 Aston.

TOYOTA STAYS UNBEATEN IN FP2 AS VECTOR SPORT EMERGES ATOP IN CLASS
Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the 6 Hours of Portimao meeting so far to head another Toyota 1-2 this afternoon.

Kobayashi’s compatriot Ryo Hirakawa took the quickest time for the No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar to place second, making it a Japanese 1-2 as he stopped the clocks at 1m33.114s.

Ferrari AF Corse again placed third and fourth as Miguel Molina in No.50 Ferrari 499P managed to get within 0.2s of the second-placed Toyota.

Antonio Giovinazzi was the fastest driver in No.51 car as the ex-F1 racer ended the session in fourth position, just over a tenth of a second adrift of the sister car

But his team was bettered by James Calado in final moments as the 2022 LMGTE Pro champion went slightly faster with a 1m33.455s best.

The No.94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 went fifth-fastest as ‘the Lion’ started to roar back after difficult Sebring outing.

Vector Sport took a surprising LMP2 top spot as Gabriel Aubry set an impressive 1m34.609s lap. The French ace headed Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson by 0.082s.

FP1’s fastest car, the No.63 Prema car finishes the session in third as Mirko Bortolotti continues to be one of quickest on track, with his best lap of 1m34.837s.

Daniel Serra again set the pace in LMGTE Am, with Richard Mille Racing’ Lilou Wadoux and AF Corse’s Davide Rigon making it a 1-2-3 for Ferrari in the class.