FIA WEC, 6 Hours of Sao Paulo - Thursday Free Practice 2

Lucas di Grassi was first to top the times  before Alex Wurz popped up to lead the order 10 minutes into the session – 1:23.928 the best of the meeting so far with drizzle in the air and menacingly low cloud – It’s actually cold here (for pitys sake!!)

All three factory cars were under 1:25 in the early session running – separated by just 6 tenths.

Minassian meanwhile was doing what he could to underline the trust placed in him by Pecom – he topped the P2 order with a 1:29.0 before being leapfrogged by Dominik Kraihamer (1:28.4) with Marc Lieb and Fernando Rees doing likewise in the GTE classes, in fact the Larbre man was improving his times to take the Am class vette up through the Pro order – 20 minutes in and the #50 car was second fastest GT car overall, just 4 tenths off Lieb’s 1:34.4

Minasian improved to close on Kraihamer’s mark but it was Pla that improved next, second fastest in LMP2 for a Morgan Nissan 1-2 after 30 minutes as Olivier first went second quickest then led the class order but only by one thousandth of a second from his team-mate!

Wurz improved soon after the half hour to a 1:23.623 as Rusinov moved up the LMP2 order to go third quickest.

Andrea Bertolini leapfrogged team-mate Fisichella to put the #71 AF Corse 458 second fastest in GTE Pro – still not as fast at that point though as Rees’s Corvette.

Rees wasn’t the only Brazilian to impress though as Lucas di Grassi closed in on Wurz’s time – second fastest at the sessions half way point with a 1:23.7 just as Rusinov leapfrogged the Morgans to p[ut the #26 Signatech Oreca on top of LMP2 – 1:27.899 with Franck Mailleux popping up second fastest just seconds later in the sister #23 car, a tenth shy of the Russian, but improving next time around to put #23 on top – 1:27.815, Rusinov’s first effort fell a tenth short and next time around he was still second fastest but only by three thousandths as Dalziel popped up third quickest in the Starworks HPD.

GTE-Am saw second and third fastest separated by just a thousandth too as we moved into the final half hour – Ruberti pipping Rugolo by the minimum possible margin.

A big improvement from Dumbreck saw the Privateer P1 HPDs fill 4th and fifth fastest slots – the JRM car now a second faster than an early session effort from Danny Watts, the Scot shaving a further tenth off on his next lap to go just four tenths slower than the third fastest car, the #1 Audi.

Jean Denis Deletraz meanwhile wasn’t covering himself in glory – running straight on, off the track at Turn one before recovering only to get involved in some argy bargy with the Greaves Zytek which saw the two cars coming together with damage for both as they tried to take the same apex simoulatneously - the Zytek coming worst off with the impact tearing off the left fromt wheel cover as the Lola went up the inside, Zugel seemingly turning in on the Lola.

It was only in the last five minutes of the session that we saw any other significant improvement and that came from the GTE Pro class as Darren Turner grabbed fastest time of the session in the AMR Vantage – 1:34.001, Fisichella meanwhile leapfrogged the sister #71 car to stay third fastest in the #51 AF Corse 458.

Lapierre though was to finish the session with a flourish, the Toyota man storming around in 1:23.272 – The top four cars overall within a second.

GG