Paul di Resta once again set the pace at the wheel of the #22 United Autosports USA Oreca-Gibson in the final 60-minute free practice session for round two of the 2021 World Endurance Championship at the 8 Hours of Portimao on Saturday afternoon.
Porsche reasserted its authority in the LMGTE Pro class, while Alpine ELF Matmut continued at top of Hypercar ahead of the Glickenhaus 007 LMH.
HYPERCAR
Alpine ELF Matmut was still on top in Hypercar as Nicolas Lapierre again places himself at the top of the timings screens as he sets a best lap of 1m31.886.
A superb 1m31.916s lap by Glickenhaus Racing’s Richard Westbrook continues strong debut pace from all-new Glickenhaus 0007 Hypercar design after US team recovers from technical issues in earlier session.
Brendon Hartley is again fastest in the #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid for Toyota Gazoo Racing with a 1m32.064s to place third in Hypercar The #7 Toyota places fourth with Jose-Maria Lopez achieving a fastest lap of 1m32.459s
LMGTE PRO
A close fight in LMGTE Pro sees Porsche claw back to the top of the times as Kevin Estre sets fastest lap of class so far in cooler conditions and peaks on a 1m38.082s lap. Gianmaria Bruni was second with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 on a 1m38.850s but 0.8s in arrears to sister car.
AF Corse Ferrari place third and fourth as work continues on tyres stints for tomorrow’s race. Daniel Serra laps just 0.1s behind Bruni with a best effort of 1m38.953s. Serra’s best is 0.2s faster than the #51 cars best, which is set by James Calado on 1m39.919s
LMP2
Di Resta sets another stunning lap time with the United Autosports USA Oreca-Gibson to again lead the overall times with a rapid 1m31.628s.
JOTA placed second as Antonio Felix da Costa stopped the clock with a 1m31.765s, just 0.137s off di Resta’s best time. The Inter Europol Competition team continues its strong form with the third placed time in LMP2 as Alex Brundle again excels with 1m31.998s best.
LMGTE AM
LMGTE Am class is once again lead by the #56 Team Project 1 Porsche as Matteo Cairoli takes 0.1s out of his best morning time and sets class pace with a 1m39.186s lap.
The #77 Dempsey Proton finished the session second quickest as Matt Campbell claimed a best lap of 1m39.577. AF Corse denied Porsche a clean sweep as Giancarlo Fisichella placed third in #.54 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.