Hartley Leads FP2 but Peugeot Close; Bruni Tops LMGTE Pro

Toyota blasted back to the top of the timing screens in an eventful FP2 at Monza this morning as Brendon Hartley set the pace in the No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.

The Kiwi just outpaced the all-new Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar in a close session that could indicate a battle royal in the Monza royal park later today.

Porsche continue to hold slight advantage over Ferrari in LMGTE Pro as Gimmi Bruni’s time shades Miguel Molina’s best in the No.52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

2021 LMP2 winners United Autosports USA pace LMP2 as Filipe Albuquerque sets the fastest time, while in LMGTE Am Porsche lead Ferrari as top four are covered by a slender 0.079s!

Session sees thrills and spills aplenty as first the ARC Bratislava car crashes and red flags session and then the N0.98 Nothwest AMR entry tags the wall at the second Lesmo.

The Headlines from FP2 at Monza.....

Hypercar 

• Toyota Gazoo Racing top times in 90-minute FP2 session as No.8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid Hypercar heads the field 
• Brendon Hartley sets a 1m37.692s lap in the early stages of two-part session which was red flagged after 45-minutes to repair barriers at Variante Roggia chicane 
• Peugeot TotalEnergies continue to make waves on WEC debut as Mikkel Jensen laps second fastest in No.93 9X8 Hypercar 
• Jean-Eric Vergne survives a gravelly moment at Ascari Chicane in final 20-minutes of session in No.93 car but then tours round to pits with a suspected puncture 

• Dane laps in rapid 1m37.775s and sits just 0.083s behind the No.8 Toyota  
• Glickenhaus third as Pipo Derani sets a 1m37.961s best in new blue livered American entered 007LMH 
• Peugeot TotalEnergies place second and fourth as No.94 9X8 peaks with a 1m38.061s with Gustavo Menezes setting fastest time  
• Alpine Team ELF take fifth fastest time with Matthieu Vaxiviere at the wheel of Alpine A480-Gibson 
• No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing is sixth after several small excursions in early phase of session. 
• All six Hypercars are separated by just 0.4s!

LMGTE Pro 

• Gimmi Bruni lays down a 1m46.644s lap in No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 entry 
• Local ace heads the AF Corse pair as No.52 car place P2 and No.51 is P3 as Prancing Horse aims for home glory  

• Miguel Molina sets a 1m46.714s lap to just beat James Calado in No.51 car by 0.102s

• No.92 Porsche sits in fourth place with the Porsche and Ferrari quartet all lapping within 0.4s of each other 
• Corvette Racing are fifth as Tommy Milner drives vast majority of session  

LMP2 

• A 1m38.917s lap from Filipe Albuquerque in the No.22 United Autosports USA entry sets the pace in ultra-competitive LMP2 category 

• Portuguese ace leads the FP1 time topping No.83 AF Corse Oreca-Gibson as Alessio Rovera again sets quickest time as silver car also tops Pro/Am division 
• No.31 WRT car is third as Robin Frijns turns in a 1m39.186s lap to head the ARC Bratislava entry which is fourth thanks to a time by Mathias Beche 
• But ARC Bratislava car, driven by Tijmen Van Der Helm, crashes on exit of Roggia chicane and brings out red flag for 25-minutes as armco is repaired 
• Fifth in LMP2 is the No.23 United Autosports USA car with Alex Lynn setting a best lap of 1m39.315s 
• No.28 JOTA rounds out the top six with Jonathan Aberdein claiming an early session lap of 1m39.331s 

LMGTE Am 

• No.54 AF Corse had topped LMGTE Am as Nick Cassidy punched in a 1m47.777 to eclipse rivals' times 
• Rapid Kiwi is just beaten though in final 5-minutes by Mikkel Pedersen in No.46 Team Project 1 Porsche who laps just 0.039s quicker on a 1m47.738s 

• Cassidy’s time is then beaten by Toni Vilander in No.21 AF Corse Ferrari on final lap 
• GR Racing place fourth with Riccardo Pera lapping in 1m47.917s 
• No.98 Northwest AMR survives wild second Lesmo moment as Paul Dalla Lana tags wall after running through the gravel 
• Incredibly close top four as they are covered by a mere 0.079s! 

Click HERE for results