Toyota Gazoo Racing ended up 1-2 at the top of the LMP1 class once again in Free Practice 2 this afternoon at Shanghai, but the gap between the Japanese marque and its non-hybrid competition was smaller than it was in FP1.
The fastest car was the #7 this time, with a late hot lap from Jose Maria Lopez, a 2:02.259, which was significantly slower than the best FP1 time, due to the weather conditions worsening during the afternoon.
Behind the #8 in third was the #3 Rebellion R-13, Thomas Laurent posting a 2:02.673, to get within just four-tenths of the #7. The second Rebellion slotted in fourth, six tenths off the pace-setting time from Lopez.
Best of the rest was the #11 SMP Racing BR1, 1.3 seconds off. For reference, in Free Practice 1, the fastest privateer was 4.1 seconds off the benchmark time.
LMP2 meanwhile, saw the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA lead the way once again, Jazeman Jaafar posting a 2:10.869 which was just 0.069 faster than the championship-leading Signatech Alpine A470 which sat atop the class with a 2:10.869 from Andre Negrao until the very end of the running. Once again the #28 TDS Racing ORECA ended up third.
In GTE Pro, AF Corse’s #51 came to the fore, James Calado setting a 2:14.315 shortly before getting beached in the gravel after a spin at Turn 1 early in the session. The car did continue running after being recovered and went on to complete 26 laps.
The #82 BMW which led the way in FP1 ended up second, six tenths off, with the #97 Aston Martin sitting third after the 90 minutes of running thanks to a 2:14.983 from Maxime Martin.
A Ferrari 488 also topped GTE Am, the Spirit of Race example leading a 1-2 for the ‘Prancing Horse’ after Giancarlo Fisichella’s 2:16.835. The Clearwater 488 which ran fastest of the Ferraris in the first session ended up second.
Gulf Racing’s Porsche completed the top three, ahead of the TF Sport Aston which topped the opening practice session.
