Portimao FP1: Buemi tops times for Toyota; Prema 1-2 in LMP2
Sebastien Buemi claimed the fastest lap of the opening 90-minute practice session at Portimao this morning.
Buemi, who won the 2021 WEC race held at the same circuit with then teammates Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley, scorched to a best lap of 1m32.792s.
The LMP2 class saw Prema flex some early muscle as Mirko Bortolotti led the way in the No.63 car.
Daniel Serra held a large 0.5s advantage within the LMGTE Am category in the No.57 Kessel Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
Below are the main headlines from FP1 at Portimao.
Hypercar
· Sebastien Buemi posts fastest lap of first session with a 1m32.792s in the No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
Swiss ace beats 1m33.176s set by Mike Conway in No.7 Toyota.
Ferrari AF Corse places third and fourth and are close to Toyotas.
· No.51 Ferrari 499P leads the chase as Alessandro Pier Guidi claims the quickest lap of 1m33.453s.
Nicklas Nielsen ensures No.50 because that took pole at Sebring is fourth on a best of 1m33.569s.
Porsche Penske continues to increase miles with 963 Hypercar as No.5 heads the No.6 model.
Frederic Makowiecki and Laurens Vanthoor set the times respectively and the pair are separated by just 0.104s.
· Cadillac Racing lose time at start of session but No.2 because join track midway through session and sets seventh fastest time as Earl Bamber peaks on a 1m34.107s lap.
Peugeot TotalEnergies eighth and ninth. Team have changed to a hydraulic gearbox actuator for this round after reliability issues in Sebring.
No.94 9X8 leads the sister car as Gustavo Menezes and Mikkel Jensen claim the best times.
· Glickenhaus and Floyd Vanwall round out top ten as Tom Dillmann and Olivier Pla set respective times for the two non-Hybrid Hypercar entries.
Free Practice 1 Buemi top for Toyota in FP1 at Portimao.
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LMP2
Prema Racing enjoys a 1-2 in LMP2 after 90-minute FP1 session.
· No.63 car driven by Daniil Kvyat, Doriane Pin and Mirko Bortolotti proves quickest as 1m34.542 set by Bortolotti shades the No.9 car.
Bent Viscaal places second with a 1m34.884s, 0.3s off Bortolotti's best.
Inter Europol Competition continues strong start to season with third best time after they took third place points in Sebring.
Fabio Scherer claims fastest lap in yellow and green Oreca-Gibson with a lap of 1m34.920s
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LMGTE Am
Daniel Serra sets the pace in LMGTE Am in the Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
Former Aston Martin and Ferrari factory driver laps in 1m41.341s to beat the Northwest AMR Aston Martin by 0.5s
A 1m41.858s lap is set by Nicki Thiim as Aston crew look to fight back after tough Sebring race.
No.88 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 sits third as Harry Tincknell's best lap comes within just 0.004s of the No.98 car.
· The sister No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 entry causes first of two red flags when Mikkel Pedersen stops in gravel at T8.
Second red flag comes after Rui Andrade stops at T10 in No.41 WRT LMP2 car.
FP2 is scheduled to start at 15.30 local time.
Find full results HERE
