Audi moved up to the top of the time charts at Silverstone with the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Lucas Di Grassi setting the fastest lap of 1:43.134 in the second and final FIA WEC practice session of the day today at Silverstone.
Di Grassi’s time was nine-tenths quicker than Marc Lieb’s lap set in the opening practice in the No. 14 Porsche 919 Hybrid. The Brazilian driver edged out teammate André Lotterer by exactly four tenths of a second, with the Audi team taking control at the front halfway through the second practice session.
Toyota’s Kazuji Nakajima was third quickest in the afternoon practice, nearly one second slower than Di Grassi’s time. The two Porsches and the second Toyota were over two seconds slower than the No. 1 Audi.
Once again, the two Rebellion Lola B12/60 Toyotas were close to the factory cars, with the No. 12 car of Nick Heidfeld recording a 1:45.346, which put it in front of the No. 14 Porsche 919 Hybrid.
In LMP2 it was the No. 26 G-Drive Racing Morgan Nissan of Roman Rusinov quickest again in the session with a lap time of 1:50.401.
Richard Bradley had put the No. 47 KCMG Oreca 03 Nissan on top half an hour before the end of the session, but the Russian driver managed to improve that time by three-tenths.
The No. 37 SMP Racing Oreca 03 Nissan was third in the class.
Unlike the first session, none of the GTE drivers managed to break the 2:00 barrier. The No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR was the fastest, topping the GTE-Pro category with a 2:00.057.
RAM Racing’s Alvaro Parente and Matt Griffin were second fastest, their No. 52 Ferrari setting a 2:00.268, a tenth faster than the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR.
GTE-Am saw the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR of Klaus Bachler, Khaled Al Qubaisi and Christian Ried setting the fastest time in the category.
There were no major incidents in the session, although the No. 90 8Star Motorsports Ferrari went off into the gravel, causing a local yellow flag.
The No. 8 Toyota and No. 14 Porsche are under investigation for “improving under yellows”.
Saturday’s third practice session is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. local time.
RESULTS: Practice 2
