Ferrari AF Corse maintained its advantage in the second and final Le Mans Test Session 2 at Circuit de la Sarthe, run on a hot afternoon to conclude Test Day.
After the No. 50 Ferrari 499P led the first session with Antonio Fuoco, the No. 51 Ferrari turned up the wick to record the fastest time of the day — a 3m29.504s by Antonio Giovinazzi. Ferrari Driver Academy graduate Fuoco set a 3m29.856s in the No. 50 car, although that was only enough to make him fourth fastest in the afternoon.
Two Hypercars that spent significant time in the garage this morning recovered to show well in the afternoon. After an electrical issue brought it to a stop in the first session, the No. 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 got back on track to make up for the lost time. The No. 75 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 also spent a lot of the session in its garage undergoing a brake system component change, but it was able to get out for some running in the last hour.
Laurens Vanthoor wound up second fastest in the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963, just over a tenth away from Giovinazzi’s best time, while Felipe Nasr went fifth fastest in the No. 75 Porsche at the very end, just ahead of the No. 5 Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki.
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Toyota Gazoo Racing’s morning test came to a disappointing end when Mike Conway crashed the No. 7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID at Tetre Rouge. After two hours of repairs, the No. 7 was not only back on track, but third fastest and completed 39 laps. The sister No. 8 Toyota wasn’t up near the top of the time sheets but did log laps steadily — with the reminder to all that these times likely won’t be representative of the days to come.
Paul di Resta was fastest for Peugeot, setting a 3m30.427s in the once-ailing No. 93 car, good for seventh fastest. Not far behind, the “blue deuce” No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Earl Bamber was the best of the marque. All three Cadillacs had trouble-free test sessions.
Even the three privately-built Hypercars, the No. 4 Floyd Vanwall Racing Team Vandervell 680 and the two Glickenhaus Racing 007s, were able to show flashes of competitive pace over one lap.
JOTA’s “Mighty 38” may have been elevated to Hypercar but its No. 28 ORECA 07 still gives the team a fighting presence in LMP2. Pietro Fittipaldi set the car’s best time towards the end of the afternoon session at 3m35.472s – the only man to surpass the sub-3m36s bracket.
Fittipaldi took the top spot from the No. 31 Team WRT ORECA which had been leading the time sheets courtesy of Ferdinand Habsburg. In third was the No. 35 Alpine Elf Team ORECA of Andre Negrao, looking a little more representative of the best that the Signatech-operated squad has to offer, with Matthieu Vaxiviere right behind him in fourth aboard the refreshed No. 36. Tom Blomqvist was fifth fastest aboard the No. 23 United Autosports ORECA.
In LMGTE Am, the No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE EVO was quickest for the second straight session. Louis Prette paced the morning test, but this time Thomas Neubauer had the fastest time at 3m56.088s. Less than a tenth of a second adrift was Francesco Castellacci in the silver No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari, while Daniel Serra made it a Ferrari 1-2-3 class result in the fluorescent yellow No. 57 Kessel Racing (CarGuy) Ferrari.
But the top Porsche wasn’t very far back — there were only two-tenths separating Neubauer from fourth-fastest Benjamin Barker in the No. 86 GR Racing Porsche.
But the biggest impression of the day might have been made by Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 car. The No. 24 Camaro ZL1 lapped more than two seconds better than the quickest time in GTE Am, with Mike Rockenfeller reeling off a 3m53.761s early in the test, showing more of the NASCAR entry’s potential.
“It was incredible.”@JimmieJohnson made the most of his first run out at Le Mans. pic.twitter.com/FrlmYf5xcx
— NASCARG56 (@nascarg56) June 4, 2023
UP NEXT: Official practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans begins with Free Practice 1 set for 2pm local time on Wednesday.