Peugeot’s Mueller Quickest in Shortened FP1 at Interlagos

Photo: Javier Jimenez/DPPI

The No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 of Nico Mueller led the way in a shortened opening Free Practice session for Sunday’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo FIA World Endurance Championship round.

Mueller stormed to the top of the time charts with a best lap of 1:26.971 moments before the session-ending red flag for the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 of Arnold Robin, who made heavy contact with the Turn 4 barriers with 43 minutes to go.

Robin was assisted out of the LMGT3 entry, although the session ended early due to extensive barrier repairs.

Free Practice 2, meanwhile, will be extended to 2 hours and 15 minutes in length as a result to allow for additional track time.

Mueller ended up being 0.179 seconds quicker than the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R of Earl Bamber, with Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Andre Lotterer third in the Hypercar championship-leading No. 6 Porsche 963.

The No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi and No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Yifei Ye completed the top-five.

Mike Conway, making his return to the cockpit after missing Le Mans due to injuries sustained in a cycling accident, turned roughly ten laps in the No. 7 Toyota, having posted the seventh quickest time.

The session, which started off in wet conditions, quickly dried out through the first stanza of running, which also saw a virtual safety car period, used as a test of the system.

LMGT3 was led by the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 of local hero Nicolas Costa, thanks to a 1:35.881 lap time.

It was just 0.003 seconds quicker than second-placed Alex Riberas in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Matteo Cressoni ended up third in class in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

FP2 will now get underway at 2:30 p.m. local time and run through the regularly scheduled end of 4:45 p.m.

RESULTS: Free Practice 1

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