Track action at Fuji Speedway is well and truly underway. After the first practice session, it was Toyota, on home soil, that topped the times with the #8 TS050 HYBRID atop the screens with a 1:27.373 from Sebastien Buemi.
Rebellion’s #1 R-13 did come close though, splitting the two Toyotas in the session, which started under wet conditions following a rainstorm this morning.
Norman Nato put the #1 second with a 1:27.659, four-tenths faster from the #7 Toyota that slotted in third.
Then came the two Team LNT Ginettas, 1.076 and 1.3 seconds off the best time of the session. The team’s G60-LT-P1s only completed 15 laps combined during the running, after brake cooling issues required a change in set up in the garage that cost the crew valuable track time.
In LMP2, Kenta Yamashita flexed his muscles. The current Super GT points leader, who is fresh from his first Super Formula win, put High Class Racing’s Goodyear-shod ORECA 07 Gibson on top by a considerable margin. The local hero’s time was a 1:29.624, almost eight tenths faster than the other runners in the class.
The top three was completed by the #29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA, the first of the Michelin runners, and the #42 Cool Racing ORECA.
During the session, Alexandre Coigny made his return to the track with the Cool Racing team for the first time since his incident at the ELMS race at Silverstone, the day before the WEC season opener. The Swiss team’s best time though came from Nicolas Lapierre a 1:30.814.
Porsche meanwhile, found early pace in GTE Pro, its #91 and #92 Porsche 911 RSR 19s ending up 1-2 at the head of the class. Gianmaria Bruni was the pacesetter for the German brand, with a 1:38.419.
Best of the rest in the three-brand class was the #71 AF Corse Ferrari, Davide Rigon touring the circuit in 1:38.707, ending up third, less than a tenth up on the fastest of the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage AMRs, the #95.
It was tight in the times with all six cars separated by just seven-tenths.
TF Sport’s Vantage AMR on the other hand, set the fastest time in GTE Am, with a 1:39.010 from Jonny Adam. Local team, MR Racing’s Ferrari ended up second less than a tenth back, with the newly-liveried black Gulf Racing Porsche making it three brands in the top three.
Next up is Free Practice 2 for the FIA WEC, at 15:30 local time in Japan.
