Headlines from FP2 at the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo
Genesis Magma Racing topped the timesheets in an FIA WEC session for the first time at Interlagos this afternoon, as defending race-winner Akkodis ASP Team’s pair of Lexuses locked out the leading two positions in LMGT3.
Genesis Magma Racing topped an FIA WEC session for the first time during second free practice this afternoon, in preparation for the 2026 edition of the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos
The South Korean marque, which made its debut in FIA WEC this season with the GMR-001 Hypercar, had already created a very favourable impression courtesy of eye-catching displays at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans earlier on in the campaign
But Mathieu Jaminet’s 1m24.271s lap in FP2 added fresh sparkle to the bright orange-liveried team’s ambitions, as it set the benchmark by a mere 0.060s in the 90-minute session
Closest to the Genesis was the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, as Marco Sørensen and Alex Riberas continue to give the American-entered, British-run outfit cause for great optimism at the scene of the British Racing Green prototype’s maiden top ten finish 12 months ago
The sister #007 Valkyrie backed up its benchmark time in FP1 with third-fastest lap in FP2, just under 0.2s shy of the #009
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA concluded proceedings placed fourth and fifth, as the #38 V-Series.R powered its way to a 1m24.685s best, 0.028s ahead of the #12 car, which is being driven by the duo of Norman Nato and Will Stevens this weekend as Alex Lynn continues to recover from surgery
Alpine took sixth, with the #35 A424 heading the first of the Ferrari 499Ps – the #83 AF Corse entry piloted by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson
The fastest BMW was the #15 M Hybrid V8 in eighth with Raffaele Marciello setting the best time, while the top ten was rounded out by the #36 Alpine and #50 Ferrari
TOYOTA RACING again failed to trouble the front-runners, with the #7 and #8 TR010 Hybrid Hypercars winding up just 14th and 15th in the session, which ran caution-free throughout
LMGT3
An early flyer from Clemens Schmid proved good enough to earn top spot for the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus in the second of today’s free practice sessions in readiness for the 2026 Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo
Schmid, who along with team-mates José María López and Petru Umbrărescu won last year’s LMGT3 race at Interlagos, lapped in 1m34.498s to lay down an initial marker as the trio attempt to go back-to-back in Brazil
That time proved to be 0.037s faster than the sister Akkodis entry, as rising star Hadrien David peaked on a best effort of 1m34.535s in the RC F he shares with Esteban Masson and Tom Van Rompuy
Heart of Racing Team claimed third position with the #23 Aston Martin Vantage AMR, in which Gray Newell and Jonny Adam are joined for this event by Kobe Pauwels, who replaces the IMSA-clashing Eduardo Barrichello
McLaren placed fourth courtesy of the #58 Garage 59 720S Evo of Alexander West, Benjamin Goethe and Finn Gehrsitz, with the latter posting the car’s quickest lap
Heart of Racing Team put both of its cars well inside the top six as the #27 entry of Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon ended up fifth, just ahead of the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette
The third and final free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Rolex 6 Hours de São Paulo will take place on Saturday at 10:10 local time (GMT-3).
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