Porsche 1-2 in opening practice
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| Marc Lieb in the No. 2 Porsche was fastest |
Marc Lieb edged out Brendon Hartley as Porsche nailed down the top positions in first free practice for Sunday's Nurburgring World Endurance Championship round.
The Le Mans 24 Hours winner set a best time of 1m41.703s in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, 0.047 seconds ahead of the 1m41.750s set by Hartley.
Highlights
- Porsche Team 1-2 in FP1 as No.2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Marc Lieb edges No.1 car of Brendon Hartley by just 0.047s.
- Audi third and fourth as No.7 R18 driven by André Lotterer gets to within 0.2 of leading Porsche; Loic Duval fourth in No.8 R18.
- Sebastien Buemi places fifth in No.5 Toyota TS 050 HYBRID as new high-downforce car makes first public appearance.
- No.6 Toyota TS 050 places sixth but 1.9 secs away from ultimate pace.
- Just 0.8 seconds covers top five top!
- Times slower than 2015 due to use of tighter Veedol Chicane.
- G-Drive Racing top times in LMP2 as Alex Brundle sets time during impressive 2016 LMP2 WEC debut.
- Matt Howson sets best lap for No.44 Manor ORECA Nissan to clinch second place.
- LMP2 Points leader Signatech Alpine suffers tough start after stopping on track early in session.
- Rebellion 1-2 in Privateer LMP1 class as No.13 R-One-AER outpaces No.12.
- LMGTE Pro led by No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488GTE as James Calado sets 1m58.402s to head No.97 Aston Martin.
- Pedro Lamy tops times in LMGTE Am in No.98 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage
Results
| Pos | No. – Team | Drivers | Car | Class | Time | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 2 Porsche Team | R. DUMAS / N. JANI / M. LIEB | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1 H | 1:41.703 | – | – |
| 2 | 1 Porsche Team | T. BERNHARD / M. WEBBER / B. HARTLEY | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1 H | 1:41.750 | +0.047 | +0.047 |
| 3 | 7 Audi Sport Team Joest | M. FÄSSLER / A. LOTTERER | Audi R18 | LMP1 H | 1:41.903 | +0.200 | +0.153 |
| 4 | 8 Audi Sport Team Joest | L. DI GRASSI / L. DUVAL / O. JARVIS | Audi R18 | LMP1 H | 1:42.154 | +0.451 | +0.251 |
| 5 | 5 Toyota Gazoo Racing | A. DAVIDSON / S. BUEMI / K. NAKAJIMA | Toyota TS050 – Hybrid | LMP1 H | 1:42.593 | +0.890 | +0.439 |
| 6 | 6 Toyota Gazoo Racing | S. SARRAZIN / M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI | Toyota TS050 – Hybrid | LMP1 H | 1:43.635 | +1.932 | +1.042 |
| 7 | 13 Rebellion Racing | M. TUSCHER / D. KRAIHAMER / A. IMPERATORI | Rebellion R-One – AER | LMP1 | 1:48.360 | +6.657 | +4.725 |
| 8 | 12 Rebellion Racing | N. PROST / N. HEIDFELD / M. BECHE | Rebellion R-One – AER | LMP1 | 1:48.364 | +6.661 | +0.004 |
| 9 | 4 Bykolles Racing Team | S. TRUMMER / O. WEBB / P. KAFFER | CLM P1/01 – AER | LMP1 | 1:48.984 | +7.281 | +0.620 |
| 10 | 26 G-Drive Racing | R. RUSINOV / R. RAST / A. BRUNDLE | Oreca 05 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:50.748 | +9.045 | +1.764 |
| 11 | 44 Manor | T. GRAVES / A. PIZZONIA / M. HOWSON | Oreca 05 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:51.436 | +9.733 | +0.688 |
| 12 | 42 Strakka Racing | N. LEVENTIS / J. KANE / L. WILLIAMSON | Gibson 015S – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:51.469 | +9.766 | +0.033 |
| 13 | 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports | R. DALZIEL / L. DERANI / C. CUMMING | LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:51.669 | +9.966 | +0.200 |
| 14 | 45 Manor | M. RAO / R. BRADLEY / R. MERHI | Oreca 05 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:52.333 | +10.630 | +0.664 |
| 15 | 43 RGR Sport by Morand | R. GONZALEZ / F. ALBUQUERQUE / B. SENNA | LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:52.471 | +10.768 | +0.138 |
| 16 | 37 SMP Racing | V. PETROV / K. LADYGIN / V. SHAITAR | BR01 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:52.647 | +10.944 | +0.176 |
| 17 | 35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine | D. CHENG / H. TUNG / N. PANCIATICI | Alpine A460 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:52.825 | +11.122 | +0.178 |
| 18 | 27 SMP Racing | N. MINASSIAN / M. MEDIANI | BR01 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:52.845 | +11.142 | +0.020 |
| 19 | 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports | S. SHARP / E. BROWN / J. VAN OVERBEEK | LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan | LMP2 | 1:53.983 | +12.280 | +1.138 |
| 20 | 51 AF Corse | G. BRUNI / J. CALADO | Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE Pro | 1:58.402 | +16.699 | +4.419 |
| 21 | 97 Aston Martin Racing | R. STANAWAY / D. TURNER | Aston Martin Vantage V8 | LMGTE Pro | 1:58.601 | +16.898 | +0.199 |
| 22 | 95 Aston Martin Racing | N. THIIM / M. SØRENSEN | Aston Martin Vantage V8 | LMGTE Pro | 1:58.982 | +17.279 | +0.381 |
| 23 | 71 AF Corse | D. RIGON / S. BIRD | Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE Pro | 1:59.498 | +17.795 | +0.516 |
| 24 | 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | S. MÃœCKE / O. PLA | Ford GT | LMGTE Pro | 1:59.560 | +17.857 | +0.062 |
| 25 | 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | M. FRANCHITTI / A. PRIAULX / H. TINCKNELL | Ford GT | LMGTE Pro | 1:59.784 | +18.081 | +0.224 |
| 26 | 98 Aston Martin Racing | P. DALLA LANA / P. LAMY / M. LAUDA | Aston Martin Vantage V8 | LMGTE Am | 1:59.949 | +18.246 | +0.165 |
| 27 | 77 Dempsey – Proton Racing | R. LIETZ / M. CHRISTENSEN | Porsche 911 RSR (2016) | LMGTE Pro | 2:00.483 | +18.780 | +0.534 |
| 28 | 50 Larbre Competition | Y. YAMAGISHI / P. RAGUES / P. RUBERTI | Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 | LMGTE Am | 2:00.755 | +19.052 | +0.272 |
| 29 | 83 AF Corse | F. PERRODO / E. COLLARD / R. AGUAS | Ferrari F458 Italia | LMGTE Am | 2:00.890 | +19.187 | +0.135 |
| 30 | 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing | K. AL QUBAISI / D. HEINEMEIER HANSS / P. LONG | Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE Am | 2:01.369 | +19.666 | +0.479 |
| 31 | 78 KCMG | C. RIED / W. HENZLER / J. CAMATHIAS | Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE Am | 2:01.487 | +19.784 | +0.118 |
| 32 | 86 Gulf Racing | M. WAINWRIGHT / A. CARROLL / B. BARKER | Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE Am | 2:01.509 | +19.806 | +0.022 |
| 33 | 36 Signatech Alpine | G. MENEZES / N. LAPIERRE / S. RICHELMI | Alpine A460 – Nissan | LMP2 | 2:32.739 | +51.036 | +31.230 |