All the competitors returned to the track for three more hours of testing in the afternoon under overcast skies, with the objective of gathering data for the race.
An interesting statistic has emerged, over the last six editions, the car that finished first on Test Day has never finished lower than fourth place in the race.
The session was disrupted by a red flag an hour and a half into the session. The #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 apparently suffered a major mechanical issue at the Porsche Ss, leading to the session being neutralized.
Then, with around 40 minutes to go, there was another red flag due to Giorgio Roda’s excursion in the #11 Proton Competition Oreca 07. Just as the session had restarted, the red flags came out for a third and final time due to a mistake by Brenton Grove in the #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 at the Karting section of the track.
Just minutes into the session, Brendon Hartley, driving the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid, clocked a stunning 3:26.246. That was already eight tenths faster than this morning, and his rivals responded. James Calado (#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P), the 2023 winner, closed to within half a second.
The deployment of the Full Course Yellow procedure put an end to this battle, forcing the drivers to stop. After the restart, the #83 Ferrari and the #20 BMW were in third and fourth place, but didn’t get close to the leading Toyota .
At the halfway point, all the Hypercars were faster than they were at the same point last year, with the exception of the #94 Peugeot 9X8. The #20 BMW, which clearly suffered a serious mechanical problem, did not return to the track. A little luckier for Sébastien Buemi, driving the #8 Toyota, who suffered a slight loss of pressure in one of his tires. He was able to bring it back to the pits.
Brendon Hartley’s early time was unmatched. Toyota thus concluded this Test Day in the lead ahead of the #51 Ferrari and the #36 Alpine A424.
The LMP2 class had a rather eventful session. While everything had been going smoothly for two and a half hours, the #11 Proton Competition Oreca 07 was spotted in the escape route at Indianapolis corner after hitting the barrier. The #22 United Autosports Oreca, which had taken the lead shortly after the start, never relinquished it and finished the Test Day in first place, ahead of the #29 TDS Racing Oreca and the #199 AO by TF.
Meanwhile, the LMGT3 drivers are not having a field day. Some teams are three seconds faster than last year, and are already flirting with the LMGT3 track record set by Benjamin Barker in 2024.
However, it’s important to remember that the goal of the day isn’t necessarily to go as fast as possible, as François Hériau, who is competing in the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, points out. “You have to take the time to get back into it. You have time to work, so you definitely shouldn’t rush things.”
During this session, no one was able to come close to the time set in the opening laps by the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC-F LMGT3. The #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 was second, more than a second and a half behind.
With a few minutes to go, Brenton Grove lost his #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG at the Karting corner, which caused a third red flag and the end of the afternoon session .
Top 5 of the general classification at the end of the second session :
1. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Brendon Hartley/Sébastien Buémi/Rio Hirakawa – 3’26”246
2. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Giovinazzi/Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado – 3’26”777
3.Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team – Frédéric Makowiecki/Mick Schumacher/Jules Gounon – 3’27”313
4. Porsche 963 #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor/Matt Campbell – 3’27”356
5. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse – YE Yifei/Philip Hanson/Robert Kubica – 3’27”357
The best times in the other two categories :
LMP2: Oreca 07 – Gibson #22 United Autosports – Renger Van Der Zande/Pietro Fittipaldi/David Heinemeier Hansson – 3’35”770
LMGT3: Lexus RC-F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Petru Umbrarescu/Clemens Schmid/José Maria Lopez – 3’55”276 By Melissa Warren
