Porsche ended Friday on top at Fuji Speedway, with one of the Audis crashing and a Toyota grinding to a halt in Free Practice 2 for the seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Mark Webber was quickest, having reeled off a 1:24.074 lap time in the 90-minute session to outpace the pair of Audi R18s by nearly one-second.
It came after an accident by the No. 7 Audi of Andre Lotterer, who spun while overtaking traffic and slammed into the wall to bring out a red flag early in the running.
The repaired Audi returned to action to end the session third, completing 32 laps.
There was drama in the closing minutes for Toyota Gazoo Racing, with the No. 6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Kamui Kobayshi grinding to a halt on track with a hybrid system issue.
The pair of Toyotas ended FP2 fifth and sixth quickest overall and in LMP1.
LMP2 was led by the No. 42 RGR Sport Ligier JS P2 Nissan of Filipe Albuquerque, who recorded a 1:31.909 lap time, which was more than one-second quicker than FP1 pace-setter Alex Brundle.
Brundle’s G-Drive Racing Oreca 05 Nissan ended up second on the time sheets, followed by the No. 44 Manor Oreca Nissan.
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing led the way in GTE-Pro again, with the No. 66 Ford GT of Stefan Muecke quickest with a 1:38.743 lap, while Pedro Lamy’s No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE was quickest in GTE-Am.
Free Practice 3 is set for 10 a.m. local time on Saturday.
RESULTS: Free Practice 2