Cadillac Racing’s V-Series.R topped the time sheets in the final practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, with Alex Lynn setting a 1m49.512s to go almost half a second quicker than the other 11 Hypercars in the field.
“We had a strong day yesterday, P3 behind the two Toyotas,” Lynn noted. “Everyone has played their tire strategy differently, but I think we are in a good spot. I think one compound is significantly quicker over a lap, so how qualifying goes will depend on tire choice and how aggressive people want to be.”
Second in the order was the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari, with Antonio Fuoco putting the 499P in the top three on pace for the first time. The car, with its 1m50.010s from the Italian, sat at the top of the timing screens early in the session before Lynn set his flyer with 34 minutes remaining.
The No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche slotted in third, 0.7s off the Cadillac after completing 30 laps in the heat. The sister Ferrari ended up fourth, while the two Toyotas, which were fast throughout Thursday’s running, ended up eighth and ninth.
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In LMP2, the No. 23 United Autosports ORECA took over from the team’s No. 22 sister car as the quickest car in the category, after a 1m53.661s from Tom Blomqvist. That time was 0.028s quicker than the No. 9 PREMA ORECA which finished second fastest, 0.2s up on the No. 28 JOTA ORECA which completed the top three.
In GTE Am, the headline was the positive news from Project 1 AO this morning. Its No. 56 “Rexy” Porsche 911 RSR 19 was repaired overnight and set the fastest time. Matteo Cairoli set a 1m58.214s in the opening minutes session in his five-lap run behind the wheel, which was good enough to top the class.
The team had originally thought chassis damage from Gunnar Jeanette’s rear-end impact before pit in in FP2 left the car beyond immediate repair. However, a full inspection later that night revealed that the damage wasn’t as severe as initially feared and the car was almost ready to run early this morning.
Qualifying is up next, at 4:15pm local time.