Toyota 1-2 in Free Practice 2 at Silverstone

Photo: James Moy/Toyota

Toyota Gazoo Racing placed first and second in Free Practice 2 on Friday afternoon for the 4 Hours of Silverstone while AF Corse led the way in GTE-Pro.

Mike Conway set the pace in the No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid with a 1:36.847, while Kazuki Nakajima went 0.8 seconds slower in the sister No. 8 car.

Rebellion Racing, which went overall quickest in FP1 earlier in the day, finished the afternoon session third and fourth, with Gustavo Menezes’ best time around one second down on Conway’s.

Both Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1 AERs went out on track after the No. 5 car was unable to set any times in FP1. That same car placed fifth, albeit 2.7 seconds off the pace.

James Calado put AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo on top in GTE-Pro although a late time from Porsche’s Richard Lietz denied AF Corse a 1-2 result.

The two front-runners’ times were separated by 0.150 seconds, with Calado logging a 1:55.501 in the car he shares with Alessandro Pier Guidi. 

AF Corse’s No. 71 entry was pushed down to third by Lietz’s late time, ahead of the fourth-placed No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR. Aston Martin Racing ended the session fifth and sixth.

United Autosports stayed out front in LMP2 for the second consecutive session, courtesy of a 1:43.509 from Paul Di Resta.

High Class Racing, which was given a 30-minute stop/hold penalty at the start of the session for testing at Silverstone within 30 days of the event, managed to place second as the quickest Goodyear-shod team.

Aston Martin went 1-2 in GTE-Am again, albeit with its two Vantage GTEs reversed since the morning session. Ross Gunn’s time put the No. 98 factory car one-tenth clear of TF Sport’s entry.

The session ran green throughout, with no major incidents.

Free Practice 3 is set for 9 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT), followed by qualifying at 11:50 a.m. (6:50 a.m. EDT) on Saturday.

RESULTS: Free Practice 2

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.