Davidson Leads FIA WEC COTA Practice 2 in Mixed Conditions

Anthony Davidson, in the No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid, led the timesheets in LMP1-H and overall at 2:01.333 during second Free Practice for the FIA WEC Six Hours of the Circuit of The Americas.

As Davidson’s best time was some 11-plus seconds slower than Free Practice 1 in the dry, persistent rain made for a largely irrelevant session on the timesheets.

Davidson and Tom Kristensen, who was second at 2:02.901 in the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, both set their fastest laps on the last lap of the 90-minute session.

The session was delayed an hour from its originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time, until a final decision was made at 8:15 to continue the session beginning at 8:30.

A mix of rain, lightning and flooding necessitated the weather delay, before the go-ahead began on a wet track. During the delay, conditions were unsafe for the corner marshals to properly flag.

Once the session resumed, drivers reported sliding and heavy puddles around the circuit.

A red flag flew 17 minutes into the session to retrieve Davide Rigon in the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia, a GTE-Pro entry that ran wide at Turn 17. The session resumed with 58 minutes remaining; by the end of the session, both Rigon and the returning James Calado had completed the requisite three full timed laps at night.

The rain was heavy to begin with but let up as the session progressed, particularly within the last 30 minutes. Alex Wurz in the No. 7 Toyota led early at a 2:27.356, but times went down by 20-plus seconds throughout the remainder of the session.

Mathias Beche, in the No. 12 Rebellion R-One Toyota (LMP1-L) and Richard Bradley in the No. 47 KCGM Oreca 03 Nissan (LMP2) were the other LMP class leaders.

Meanwhile Fred Makowiecki in the No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (GTE-Pro) and Richie Stanaway in the No. 95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (GTE-Am) led the GTE classes.

Of note, the No. 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b was second in LMP2 with the No. 65 Corvette Racing C7.R P6 in GTE-Pro. Neither of the American teams focused on outright lap time but more getting all six of its drivers the three full timed laps.

Third Free Practice runs from 10:20 to 11:20 a.m. Friday morning, with qualifying much later Friday afternoon. GTE-Pro and GTE-Am will run from 6 to 6:25 p.m., with LMP1 and LMP2 from 6:35 to 7 p.m.

RESULTS: Free Practice 2