After two days of track action, Toyota Gazoo Racing completed its 2023 FIA WEC Prologue campaign with a third-place finish in four sessions.
Brendon Hartley won the No. 1 spot in the final session of the day and event. 8 Hybrid Toyota GR010 His time of 1m48.216 seconds was less than 0.008 seconds faster than Jose Maria Lopez’s (No. 7) on Saturday during the first session.
Notably, the combined fastest lap by driver chart placed all six Toyota drivers in the top seven. Between Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi, who set the Toyota times, there was a gap of just over 0.4 seconds.
Cadillac Hustling’s Duke Bamber ruined a Toyota decisive victory with his meeting-besting time Saturday evening, only 0.1s off the quickest time in the test.
Compared to the other manufacturers, Toyota’s pair of GR010s completed 145 laps during the final session.
Over the course of the two days, Toyota ran 3,533 kilometers in 587 laps. On the other end of the spectrum, Peugeot Sport’s Prologue ended in disappointment.
Cadillac was the fastest non-Toyota vehicle, thanks to Richard Westbrook’s 1m48.890s time, buoyed by the team’s performance in its first FIA WEC event.
He stated following the session, “What a start we’ve made and there is so much more to come.”
In the sole (No. 1), the Briton was 0.4 seconds ahead of Nicklas Nielsen. 50) The Ferrari that participated in the session, with the Dane moving up the order following a late effort. The No. Following James Calado’s heavy off at Turn 1 in the morning session on cold tires, the team spent the entire afternoon evaluating the chassis’ integrity. As a result, the 51-sister car was unable to participate in the session.
We are awaiting additional information regarding the extent of the damage from AF Corse.
The two Penske Porsches finished fifth and sixth in the class, 1.5 and 1.6 seconds behind the fastest Toyota time, respectively.
Toyota Gazoo Racing completed returns to the top in the third Prologue session at Sebring Toyota and will remain at Sebring for additional testing. Bamber moves Cadillac to the top in the second Prologue session at Sebring. 41 WRT ORECA saw Robert Kubica win with a time of 1m50.827 seconds. With a time that was quicker than the best tours from the No. 1, the Pole finished eighth out of all the Hypercars. 94 Peugeot, Vanwall and Glickenhaus.
The No. 3 student finished in the top three in class. 48 JOTA ORECA, whose number 22 United Autosports example finished third after winning the first three sessions.
JOTA’s other ORECA had a lot of drama further down the order. The No. David Heinemeier Hansson, car number 28, had an off at Turn 14 just 10 minutes before the session ended, causing damage to the car’s front end and hitting the wall on the driver’s right. The session came to an abrupt end as a result of the stoppage, which raised the third and final red flag.
Ben Barker of GR Racing set the pace for GTE Am at the conclusion of the test. He finished in 1m59.253 seconds, 0.01 seconds faster than Lilou Wadoux,
who finished second in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488.
The Porsche Project 1 finished in the top three. The only Corvette C8.R placed seventh, and the three Aston Martin Vantages once more finished in the bottom three at the time.
Although Corvette Racing lacked the ultimate speed of the leading Porsche and Ferraris, Nicky Catsburg claims that the test was a success for the team, which is still adjusting to its new driver pairing and competition.
Ben (Keating) demonstrated his performance today without a doubt. That is excellent. Today, Nico (Varrone) completed a lot of laps and demonstrated his capabilities. We are figuring out who we are and where we want the car to be. It is an excellent place to begin the race week. We must still establish a rhythm. But everything is ok. It was a pleasant test.
No. 1 suffered significant rear-end damage as a result of Stefano Costantini’s off into the barriers at Turn 17. 21 Ferrari AF Corse
Now that the FIA WEC Prologue is over, there will be two days off before the “Super Sebring” meeting starts on Wednesday. Sports News
