Aston Martin topped both classes at the end of Free Practice 2 for the Lone Star Le Mans, as the FIA World Endurance Championship field returned to action in Austin under cloudy skies and temperatures exceeding 30°C, with the track surface climbing above 40°C.
Harry Tincknell set the fastest time in Hypercar at the wheel of the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie he shares with Tom Gamble, recording a 1m52.567s lap to beat the No. 35 Alpine by 0.122s.
The No. 17 Genesis finished third despite an early incident at Turn 2. Mathys Jaubert was caught out by cold tyres shortly after the session began and spun into the run‑off area, triggering a brief red flag.
The No. 36 Alpine took fourth, 0.287s off Tincknell’s benchmark, followed by the three Ferraris, which were separated by only a few hundredths of a second.
The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari led the group in fifth, ahead of the factory No. 50 and No. 51 499Ps.
The sister No. 009 Aston Martin was eighth, 0.925s off the pace, with the two BMWs completing the top 10.
The Cadillac Jota entries finished 11th and 16th, while Toyota focused on race‑setup work and ended the session 12th and 15th. Both Peugeots were more than a second off the leading time in 14th and 17th.
LMGT3
Foto di: Getty Images
Aston Martin also led the way in LMGT3, with Zach Robichon setting the fastest time in the closing minutes of the session.
Robichon recorded a 2m05.609s lap to beat the two Iron Lynx Mercedes entries by more than 0.4s.
The two Garage 59 McLarens were more than half a second off the class‑leading time but climbed into the top five, followed by the No. 92 Manthey Porsche and No. 78 Lexus ASP. Also inside the top 10, within one second of Robichon’s benchmark, were the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari, No. 91 Manthey Porsche and No. 87 Lexus ASP.
The TF Sport Corvettes, WRT BMWs and Proton Competition Fords remained further down the order.
Saturday’s programme begins with the 60‑minute Free Practice 3 session at 11am local time, 6pm CET, followed by qualifying and Hyperpole from 3pm local time, 10pm CET.