Porsche dominates Friday practice sessions in Sao Paulo

Could this finally be the weekend Porsche claims victory? They have failed to reach the top step of the podium during their comeback season, but showed pace in the opening day of on-track activities.

The No. 14 and No. 20 Porsche LMP entries posted both the first and second fastest times in each of the two sessions run today. Audi trailed them, besting the newly crowned champions over at Toyota.

FP1 rundown

The opening 90 minute practice session went without any major incidents. With a time of 1:19.172 which was put down by Brendon Hartley, the No. 20 Porsche topped the charts with its sister car just under half a second behind. The No. 1 Audi was another two tenths back. The No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey entry ran the most laps at 50.

The Rebellions once again out-paced the Lotus in LMP1-L, which was just a bit faster than the leading LMP2 car, being the No. 26 G-Drive Racing entry.

The No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari and No. 95 AMR Aston Martin led GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.

FP2 rundown

FP2 was the same story, second verse. Once again, the Porsche duo led the No. 1 Audi in a session that went without any notable incidents. It was ex-Formula One ace Mark Webber who went quickest however, besting Hartley's earlier time with a 1:18.349. The No. 2 Audi ran 65 laps, more than any of the other 25 entries.

As it was earlier in the day, the CLM P1/01 failed to keep pace with the red and white Rebellions, just ahead of G-Drive racing, who continue to prove themselves the LMP2 team to beat in the finale. The GTE glory belonged to Aston Martin though, taking the three quickest times and the number one position in both the Pro and Am classes.