BMW’s Van der Linde Tops COTA FP2

BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde set the pace in the second Free Practice session ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Lone Star Le Mans event at Circuit of The Americas.

The South African driver laid down an early benchmark of 1:51.946 aboard the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8, outpacing the No. 51 Ferrari 499P of James Calado by 0.461 seconds.

Van der Linde’s effort was also quicker than the 1:53.584 that Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA driver Alex Lynn posted to lead the opening session earlier on Friday.

Aston Martin continued its strong showing at COTA thus far with Alex Riberas picking up third in the No. 009 Heart of Racing Team Valkyrie, which followed on from the sister car going second quickest in Free Practice 1.

Kevin Estre slotted into fourth in the No. 6 Porsche 963, followed by the No. 83 Ferrari of Robert Kubica and the sister Porsche Penske Motorsport entry in the hands of Julien Andlauer.

Harry Tincknell ensured both Aston Martin Valkyries featured in the top ten by ending the session seventh in the No. 007 car ahead of the No. 50 Ferrari piloted by Nicklas Nielsen.

The overall top ten was rounded out by the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid and No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R, respectively.

In the LMGT3 class, three different brands made up the top three as Sean Gelael went quickest in the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

Gelael’s best effort of 2:06.545 was 0.090 seconds quicker than Rahel Frey’s No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R. Giammarco Levorato took third in the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3.

The session came to a premature end as a result of a red flag with three minutes remaining, which was triggered by the No. 81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R stopping on track.

The only other notable incident came when Francesco Castellacci spun the No. 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 at Turn 13, triggering a Full Course Yellow with 50 minutes remaining.

The third and final Free Practice session is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. CST.

RESULTS: Free Practice 2