Hirakawa Leads Sao Paulo FP3 for Toyota

Photo: James Moy/Toyota

Ryo Hirakawa put Toyota Gazoo Racing atop the time sheets in the third and final Free Practice session prior to qualifying and Hyperpole for Sunday’s FIA World Endurance Championship round in Sao Paulo.

The Japanese driver in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid reeled off a chart-topping 1:23.695 early in the 60-minute session.

Hirakawa, who along with co-driver Brendon Hartley are racing as a duo this weekend, edged out the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco by 0.490 seconds.

The top times from the session, however, were not quicker from Friday afternoon’s FP2, which was paced by Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Kevin Estre with a 1:23.508 lap.

Dries Vanthoor made it three different Hypercar manufacturers in the top three in FP3, pedaling his No. 15 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 to a 1:24.287 lap.

The No. 7 Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi and Alex Lynn’s No. 12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R completed the top-five, followed by the No. 35 Alpine A424 and the best of the Porsche 963s, the No. 99 Proton Competition customer entry.

The Penske Porsches, which dominated Friday’s sessions, were at the bottom of the 18-car Hypercar time sheet, presumably not having attempted qualifying simulation laps.

LMGT3 was led by the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Jonny Edgar, thanks to a 1:34.414 lap time by the Silver-rated driver.

It was just 0.071 seconds quicker than hometown hero Eduardo Barrichello in the No. 10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Giammarco Levorato put the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 third on the class time charts.

The session, which started ten minutes late due to barrier repair due to an accident in the GT Cup Series Brasil session, did not feature any significant incidents or stoppages.

Qualifying, followed by Hyperpole, gets underway at 2:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. EST).

RESULTS: Free Practice 3

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