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Buemi Leads Way in Practice 2 in Shanghai

Sebastien Buemi tops time charts in Practice 2 in Shangahi…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

While an Audi had the quickest time, it was a Toyota that ended Practice 2 on the top of the time sheets in Shanghai.

The No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fassler had reeled off a best time of 1:48.655, but the lap was later disallowed, allegedly for a pit lane infraction.

As a result, it handed the top spot in final practice to the No. 8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi, who turned a 1:49.302 lap.

It wasn’t a good session for the defending WEC champions, as Andre Lotterer suffered a tire puncture, resulting in suspension damage to the diesel-powered contender.

The two-hour practice also saw a pair of red flags, including a nearly 30-minute stoppage to repair a trackside banner. An additional 20 minutes was added to the session.

LMP2 was paced by the No. 35 OAK Racing Morgan-Nissan of Bertrand Baguette, while Gimmi Bruni topped GTE-Pro in his No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia.

GTE-Am was paced by the No. 81 8Star Motorsports Ferrari of Davide Rigon, who reeled off a 2:06.027 lap time in the American-entered Prancing Horse.

Other incidents included a trip through the gravel trap for the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche of Christian Ried and a run-in between the No. 91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet and the Markus Palttala-driven IMSA Performnace Matmut Porsche.

Qualifying is set to get underway at 4 p.m. local.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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