Giovinazzi Quickest in Le Mans Test Day for Ferrari

Photo: Ferrari

Antonio Giovinazzi led the way in the second and final session of the day at Circuit de la Sarthe to go quickest overall at the Le Mans test day for AF Corse Ferrari.

The ex-Formula 1 driver reeled off a best time of 3:29.504 in the No. 51 Ferrari 499P early in the session to edge out the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Laurens Vanthoor by 0.144 seconds.

Toyota Gazoo Racing was third on the time sheets with the Kamui Kobayashi-driven No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, which was repaired following Mike Conway’s accident in the closing stages of the opening session.

Kobayashi managed to complete a best time of 3:29.827, despite a pre-event Balance of Performance adjustment that added weight to four Hypercar manufacturers, including Toyota.

The Session 1 pace-setting No. 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco ended up fourth in the final session, while Felipe Nasr’s No. 75 Porsche completed the top-five, despite completing only 15 laps due to a brake-by-wire issue.

All three of the factory Porsches were inside the top six, with the No. 5 car followed by the No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 and the best of the Cadillac V-Series.Rs, the No. 2 Chip Ganassi Racing entry in eighth.

The No. 8 Toyota and No. 94 Peugeot, which returned from a suspected hybrid-related issue in the opening session, completed the top-ten in Hypercar.

LMP2 was led by the No. 28 JOTA Oreca 07 Gibson of Pietro Fittipaldi, thanks to a 3:35.472 lap time by the Brazilian-Americna.

It was a considerable 0.771 seconds quicker than the second-placed No. 31 Team WRT entry of Ferdinand Habsburg and the pair of Alpine entries, which completed the top-four in class.

LMP2 Pro-Am was led by the No. 923 Racing Team Turkey Oreca, meanwhile.

Hendrick Motorsports’ NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which is racing as an invitational entry, ended up quicker than the entire GTE-Am field, thanks to a 3:53.761 lap time by Mike Rockenfeller.

It was more than two seconds faster than the GTE-Am pace-setting No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Thomas Neubauer.

The three-hour session saw several incidents, including an spin into the gravel at the first chicane for Jonas Ried in the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19.

Ahmad Al Harthy, meanwhile, had an off at the Musanne Corner in the No. 25 ORT by TF Aston Martin Vantage GTE.

It was followed by a 37-minute long safety car period that was initially triggered due to an incident between the No. 48 IDEC Sport Oreca of Laurents Horr and the Rodrigo Sales-driven No. 14 Nielsen Racing LMP2 entry that resulted in both cars in the gravel just past the Dunlop Chicane.

Don Yount, meanwhile, also beached the No. 88 Proton Porsche late in the session to bring out another slow zone, with Sales seen back in the gravel at the first chicane as well.

The No. 32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca, meanwhile, returned to the paddock on a flatbed trailer, having also run into trouble on track in the closing minutes of the session.

RESULTS: Session 2

John Dagys

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