Audi, G-Drive, Aston Martin and Ferrari show the way in testing at COTA

The FIA World Endurance Championship entrants today got their first opportunity to look around the fantastic 5.5km track that is the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. There were four hours of testing available to all, in preparation for Sunday’s 6 Hours of The Circuit of The Americas, and The No.2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro topped the time sheets in both the morning and afternoon sessions, their fastest time being 1:49.090 in the afternoon. They led the No.1 Audi by 0.202 seconds followed by the No.8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid and the No.12 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota in the LMP1 category.

In LMP2 it was G-Drive Racing’s No.26 ORECA 03 Nissan ahead of OAK Racing’s No.24 Morgan Nissan and the No.49 Pecom Racing ORECA Nissan entry. G-Drive Racing’s best time was set in the afternoon, their fastest lap being 1:55.817, four tenths of a second ahead of Pecom.

The No.99 Aston Martin Vantage set the pace in the LMGTE Pro category, its best lap time being 2:04.699. It headed the No.98 sister car from Aston Martin Racing by half a second, with the No.91 Porsche AG Team Manthey entry behind that by one tenth of a second.

In LMGTE Am, the fastest lap of the day was set by the No.81 8Star Motorsports entry – the only class of the four not to have improved in the afternoon. Its time of 2:05.969 was just 0.093 seconds faster than the No.76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche.

The first official 90-minute practice session will take place tomorrow at 9:15 hours local time.

FIA WEC