Genesis Magma Racing topped a WEC Free Practice session for the first ever time this afternoon at Interlagos. Mathieu Jaminet posted a 1:24.271 early in the running in the #19 GMR-001 to deliver the milestone result, in only the team’s fourth race weekend as a Hypercar manufacturer.
The Frenchman set his lap on a full set of Medium Michelins to go 0.060 clear of the pack as the track rubbered in. Notably, the lap was 1.2 seconds quicker than the best time set earlier in the day during FP1.
“Obviously, we did a Quali sim, and maybe not all the other cars did. It’s nice to finish at the top of the time sheet,” Jaminet said post-session. “It doesn’t mean much at this stage, but the team is working well, and the car is a good window for our first time at Interlagos. We’ve tried a lot of things to make small steps ahead of qualifying and the race.”
Aston Martin’s Valkyries once again showed pace, with the #009 taking second in the times and the #007 sitting third courtesy of Marco Sorensen and FP1 pace-setter Harry Tincknell.
The two Cadillac V-Series. Rs were next, improving on their FP1 performance, slotting in fourth and fifth, fourth-tenths off. The #35 Alpine was sixth in what proved to be an extremely tight session, with 15 of the 17 runners setting within nine-tenths on the short, twisty Autodromo.
The only car to sample the Michelin Hard compound was the #93 Peugeot, which ended up dead last and completed a 15-lap stint with Hards on the right and Mediums on the left.
AKKODS ASP, the winner of last year’s race, finished up first and second in LMGT3, with Clemens Schmid in the #87 Lexus RC F LMGT3 completing a 1:34.498 to top the category. Hadrien David was second in the #78, setting a 1:34.535.
Heart of Racing’s #23 Aston Martin Vantage took third, with a time marginally faster than the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, which ended the day fourth.
Like FP1, there were no significant incidents to report, with all 35 cars completing laps without major disruption.
Track action continues tomorrow with Free Practice 3 at 10:10.
Image courtesy of Genesis
