24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day – Morning Practice Session

Highlights from the first four hours of practice for the official Test Day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

• Porsche heads the field with a 1-2 in LMP1, the fastest lap being a 3:22.334 set by Marc Lieb in the No.2 Porsche 919 Hybrid.  The German heads the No.1 by just over two tenths of a second, Mark Webber having set a best lap of 3:22.555 in the No.1 entry.
• The two Audi R18s have also dipped under the 3m22 mark this morning, close behind the Porsches, with Toyota Gazoo Racing’s TS050 HYBRIDS slightly further back but working through a comprehensive test programme.
• LMP1 Private team Rebellion Racing concluded the first session with a 1-2, the No.13 car of Matheo Tuscher, Alexandre Imperatori and Dominik Kraihamer on 3:27.062, edging the No.12 by just 0.055s, the time set by Imperatori!
• In the closely fought LMP2 class, Signatech Alpine’s No.36 Alpine 460 topped the time sheets with a lap of 3:37.397 in the hands of Nicolas Lapierre.  Closely behind are Manor debutants Manor Racing, Roberto Merhi delighting in his first laps of the track, and G-Drive Racing.
• The FIA WEC’s LMGTE Pro runners had a somewhat troubled morning, and the quickest of them ended up being the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari of Bruni-Calado-Pier Guidi with a lap of 3:56.581, 5^th in class.  The Porsche Motorsport 911 RSR of Makowiecki-Bamber-Bergmeister was at the top of the class with a lap of 3:55.691, the only GTE car to go below 3m57 this morning.  Seven tenths of a second separate 10 cars in LM GTE Pro which proves how close this class is going to be.
• Ferrari headed the LMGTE Am category but the first of the FIA WEC cars was the No.98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 of Dalla Lana-Lamy-Lauda with a fastest lap of 3:59.337, just four hundredths of a second in front of the No.78 KCMG Porsche 911.
• There was just one red flag stoppage this morning, to retrieve a stranded No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, but several cars had lengthy stops in the pits including the No.97 Aston Martin Racing entry for an engine change.  There was a light sprinkling of rain just after one hour of running, but more wet weather is expected this afternoon.
• The second four hours of practice starts at 14h00.

Photo courtesy of David Lord / Dailysportscar.com