BMW M Team WRT’s No. 15 M Hybrid V8 set the pace in the second Free Practice session of the WEC weekend in Fuji this afternoon. Dries Vanthoor was the hotshoe for the team in the session, setting a 1m29.577s early in the running as part of a flurry of times which saw three cars complete laps under 1m30s for the first time this week.
Vanthoor’s 1m29.577s was almost a full second quicker than the best time set in Free Practice 1 earlier in the day by his older brother Laurens Vanthoor in the the No. 6 factory Porsche, but just 0.009s up on the No. 5 Porsche that slotted in second this time with a lap from Matt Campbell.
Adding to the encouraging session for BMW was a late long-run from Raffaele Marciello, who completed a series of fast laps in the No. 15 with medium tires on the front and hards on the rear, as the team worked towards nailing in a setup for the race.
Completing the top five was the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series. R, No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari and No. 8 Toyota, all three lapping within three and a half tenths of the No. 15 BMW.
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Like Hypercar, the running order in LMGT3 was significantly different from FP1, with the Vista AF Corse finding speed. Alessio Rovera put the No. 55 Ferrari atop the times with a 1m40.851s. However, Marino Sato’s 1m40.528s from the earlier session in the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren remains the quickest lap of the day from the class.
TF Sport’s No. 82 Corvette finish up second in the afternoon, with the No. 60 Iron Lynx Huracan third. It was extremely close in the category, with 16 of the 18 cars lapping within a second.
There was one notable incident, with Claudio Schiavoni spinning at Turn 10 in the No. 60 Huracán, before receiving a reprimand for an unsafe rejoin.
Track action continues tomorrow with Free Practice 3 at 10:20am local time.