Day 2 Prologue: third test session produces fastest laps so far
All four FIA WEC classes clocked the quickest lap times of The Prologue so far during this morning’s four-hour test session in Barcelona.
Mike Conway in the No. 7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID set a new fastest lap with a time of 1:29.623 – 0.368s quicker than José María López’s previous best yesterday morning. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s newest recruit Brendon Hartley was second quickest in the sister No. 8 car, producing a time of 1:29.719. The No. 3 Rebellion Racing R13 Gibson car was third fastest, 0.391s adrift of the No. 8 Toyota.
AF Corse and the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo continued to set the pace in the LMGTE Pro class, with Miguel Molina surpassing his previous best with a new lap time of 1:43.593. Kevin Estre in the new 911 RSR-19 was second quickest, just 0.058s adrift of the Ferrari. The No. 97 Aston Martin Racing car completed 79 laps with an overall best time of 1:44.953 and Marco Sørensen at the wheel.
Racing Team Nederland’s Oreca 07 – Gibson equipped with new Goodyear tyres proved the car to beat in LMP2 as Nyck de Vries clocked a time of 1:32.941 just an hour into the session. WEC newcomer Cool Racing was second-quickest with Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre just 0.140s behind de Vries in another Oreca. Will Stevens in the No. 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car was third quickest. Indeed, the top five LMP2 teams were separated by just 0.987s.
Team Project 1 was once again fastest out of the LMGTE Am crews, the No. 57 Porsche 911 RSR setting a benchmark time of 1:44.467 – 0.079s ahead of its sister No. 56 car. Gulf Racing was third quickest in another Porsche, closely followed by the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
Not one, but two @Porsche 911 - 19 to fill your ears with this marvellous engine sound.#WEC #Prologue2019 pic.twitter.com/02TFhmJhYd
— WEC (@FIAWEC) July 24, 2019
The session was red flagged momentarily, the first after the No. 56 Team Project 1 car stopped on track and the second after the No. 47 Cetilar Racing car went into the barrier at the exit of T4.
The fourth and final practice will commence later this afternoon at 17h00 local time.
Full results from The Prologue can be found HERE.
