24h Le Mans
The first session of Test Day finished at 13:00. Competitors for the forthcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June tested their settings and began to get used to the circuit. Toyota Gazoo Racing recorded the two best times overall. Corvette Racing has the advantage in LMGTE Pro but there is very little to choose between teams.
After the first four-hour session in today’s preliminaries, the #8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID driven by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso had clocked the fastest lap on 03:21.875. The #7 sister car has registered 3:22.027 so far. The #11 BR Engineering BR1-AER is in third place with 03:24.529. As is logical, the eight LMP1 cars top the tables.
Felipe Albuquerque in the United Autosports #22 Oreca 07-Gibson put his name to the fastest lap in LMP2 with 03:32.242, his last lap in the car. He is trailed by the #31 Oreca 07-Gibson and the Graff-SO24 #39 Oreca 07-Gibson.
The Corvette Racing #63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R won the first battle in the class, clocking 03:55.704. Next comes the #66 Ford GT whose black livery is a tribute to the American make’s 1966 Le Mans exploit. The Porsche GT Team #91 Porsche 911 RSR completes the top three. There is just a tenth of a second between the three cars.
In LMGTE Am, the Spirit Of Race #54 Ferrari 88 GTE showed its superiority with a best lap of 03:58.478.
A few race incidents perturbed the session but nothing serious enough to put any car out of the running. Paul-Loup Chatin at the wheel of the Idec Sport #48 Oreca 07-Gibson hit the tyre wall at Indianapolis. The #95 AMR Aston Martin Vantage had a mechanical issue in the Porsche Curves.
The second session starts at 14:00 and ends at 18:00.
Follow the live text commentary all day.
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES DU MANS, SUNDAY 2 JUNE 2019, TEST DAY. The Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID on the Mulsanne Straight.
