6 Hours of São Paulo FP3: Tight at the top in all classes
After 60-minutes of track action the #1 Audi was top of the time sheets with Marcel Fassler setting the best time of the weekend so far.
Photo by: DPPI
The final practice session for the 6 Hours of São Paulo started under clear blue skies and an air temperature of a pleasant 22 degrees. The lap times in each of the classes continued to improve over the times set in Friday’s two sessions.
After 60-minutes of track action the nr1 Audi was top of the time sheets with Marcel Fassler setting the best time of the weekend so far, a 1m21.292 lap of the 4.3km Interlagos track.
However the two Audis and the Toyota were split by just 0.2 seconds, with Anthony Davidson posting a 1m21.452 lap in the Toyota TS030 Hybrid, just 0.160 behind Fassler's time and just 0.049 ahead of Tom Kristensen in the nr2 Audi.
The nr12 Rebellion Racing Lola Toyota continued to keep pace with the three manufacturer entries, with Nick Heidfeld posting a 1m23.065 lap, just 1.7 behind the nr1 Audi.
In LMP2 it was the no25 Delta-ADR Oreca-Nissan that set the fastest time, with James Walker setting a 1m27.307 lap, shaving a further 0.14s off Friday’s best time. Walker finished just ahead of the two Oak Racing Morgans with Bertrand Baguette in the nr35 car setting a 1m27.528 and Olivier Pla in the nr24 car a 1m27.605 lap.
While the No.97 Aston Martin Vantage was once again at the top of the time sheets, it was a much closer third and final practice session. Stefan Mücke’s time of 1:33.126 was only four hundredths of a second ahead of the No.91 Porsche 911 RSR of Jorg Bergmeister, and just 0.125 seconds ahead of the improved No.51 AF Corse Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni. Seven tenths of a second separated the entire LMGTE Pro class so qualifying promises to be exciting!
Ferrari also made an improvement in the LMGTE Am category, with the No.81 8Star Motorsports entry heading the time sheets. Newcomer to the FIA WEC Davide Rigon set a best lap of 1:34.393, one tenth of a second ahead of the No.95 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of the Danish trio of drivers Thiim-Nygaard-Poulsen. Aston Martin took the third place in class too, with the No.96 of Campbell-Walter-Hall lapping at 1:34.574.
The practice sessions have now concluded and the first of the two separate qualifying sessions begins at 14:35h local (19:25h CET). The 15 LMGTE Pro and Am cars on the entry list will all be out on track for the 25-minute session, followed by the LMP1 and LMP2 cars at 15:10h local (20:25h CET). Don’t forget live streaming and timing of qualifying can be found on the FIA WEC website.
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