Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Alex Lynn put the #12 V-Series.R at the top of the timing screens in the second Free Practice session of the FIA WEC’s season-opening meeting at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.
The Briton set a 1:39.601 during his eight-lap stint in the car, as the track conditions improved, allowing the drivers to dip into the 1:39s for the first time today.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Lynn said. “The car is in a good window and all three of us are enjoying it. I think the rest of the weekend is going to be about executing and delivering on what we know we can do.”
Antonio Fuoco also set a sub 1:40 time for Ferrari, with a 1:39.906 in the #50 499P to go second in the times. Third was taken by the #20 BMW Team WRT M Hybrid V8, with a time just under half a second off Lynn from Robin Frijns.
The #38 JOTA Cadillac ended up fourth, with the #51 Ferrari 499P fifth.
Towards the bottom of the Hypercar times were the pair of Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries, which benefitted from a more productive 90 minutes of track time after FP1 saw the #009 cause a red flag after stopping on track.
The #007 completed 43 tours while the #009 managed 39.
“It’s been a bit up and down today. We had small issues that made FP1 not go the smoothest, but we are still learning and look to build on what we had,” #009 driver Marco Sorensen said. “In the end though it’s so early.”
In LMGT3, the #95 United Autosports McLaren GT3 Evo was the pacesetter. Sean Gelael reeled off a 1:54.557 during a qualifying sim, putting the car marginally quicker than the pair of AKKODIS ASP Lexus RC F GT3s that ended up second and third and continued to show promise.
The Vista AF Corse Ferraris were next, with Alessio Rovera putting the #21 fourth and Davide Rigon setting the best time in the #54 to go fifth.
After sitting out Free Practice 1 with issues related to the fuel docking procedure on both cars, the Iron Lynx Mercedes both made it out for FP2 and completed almost 50 laps combined.
The session ran without any major incidents. Free Practice 3 is next up. It’s set to go green tomorrow at 12:00 local time.
