Kobayashi Tops FP2 Times; Ferrari and Porsche Close in LMGTE Pro

Toyota Gazoo Racing again took a 1-2 order in the second 90-minute sessions at Fuji Speedway this afternoon. But this time it was the No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar that topped the timing screens.

Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the session which was held in cloudy but dry conditions.

LMGTE Pro was again the domain of AF Corse Ferrari, while in LMP2 it was a stellar session for JOTA as they placed 1-2.

Another incredibly close LMGTE Am category witnessed the top four protagonists separated by just 0.097s!

Hypercar

·      Kobayashi completes a best lap of 1m29.948s in No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar as it turns tables on No.8 car that led the first free practice session earlier today

·      Kobayashi’s time is over a second faster than Sebastien Buemi’s outright quickest set this morning

·      The No.8 Toyota laps 0.225s off the No.7 car with Brendon Hartley claiming a 1m30.173s lap of the Fuji Speedway

·      Peugeot TotalEnergies reprise FP1 order with No.94 Peugeot 9X8 in third position with Loic Duval stopping clocks on a 1m31.194s best

·      Alpine ELF Team trio of Andre Negrao, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre all get cockpit time during FP2 and place fourth in the Hypercar class

·      The No.93 Peugeot 9X8 is fifth but this time it is Jean-Eric Vergne who emerges fastest

LMGTE Pro

·      Ferrari continue to set the pace in LMGTE Pro as Alessandro Pier Guidi slams in a 1m38.682s

·      The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari eclipses the No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 by 0.164s as Gimmi Bruni peaks on a 1m37.892s lap

·      Pier Guidi’s laps is enough to outpace the two Porsche 911 RSR-19 entries as Kevin Estre sets best lap in third placed No.92 Porsche

·      No.52 AF Corse takes fourth position with Miguel Molina getting to within 0.046s of Estre’s time

·      Corvette Racing fifth as Tommy Milner sets best time of 1m38.451s in the yellow Chevrolet Corvette C8.R

LMP2

·      JOTA surges to the front in LMP2 and complete the session 1-2

·      The table topping No.38 Oreca-Gibson just shades the No.28 sister car with Antonio Felix da Costa setting a 1m32.351s best.

·      Da Costa’s time is 0.142s quicker than Ed Jones’ effort in the car he shares with Oliver Rasmussen and Jonathan Aberdein

·      No.22 United Autosports place third as Filipe Albuquerque sets a 1m32.510s lap

·      But the car is served with a stop/go penalty after it was in contact with the No.46 Team Project 1 Porsche midway through the session

·      Fourth fastest was the FP1 class pace setting AF Corse car as it continued to show strong pace with Nicklas Nielsen again setting the best time

LMGTE Am

·      Ferrari push to the front in an incredibly close LMGTE Am category as the Iron Dames entry leads the 13 car pack

·      Michelle Gatting on her first visit to Fuji Speedway claims a 1m39.170s best to lead the way

·      Second place is the Iron Lynx Ferrari as Giancarlo Fisichella’s 1m39.185s lap is set just before the TF Sport Aston Martin car that takes exactly the same lap time!

·      For the second time in as many sessions the same lap time to the exact thousandth of a second is made after the same scenario played out in LMP2 between the two United Autosports USA entries

·      Marco Sorensen set his lap of 1m39.185s in the TF Sport Aston Martin to break up the Ferrari’s as in fourth place is the No.54 AF Corse entry

·      The top four in LMGTE Am are separated by a remarkable 0.097s!

·      The third and final free practice session is scheduled to take place at 10.20 local time on Saturday morning

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