WEC: Porsche Dominates Opening Day at Silverstone

[Jack Hunsley]

As the WEC got back on track today at Silverstone, it was last year's champions who lead the way at the top of the time sheets as the #1 machine of Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley stamped their authority on both sessions on a damp and miserable British afternoon.

In the first Free Practice session an initially damp track times meant that times tumbled throughout the session, and whilst the #1 car eventually ended up on top most of the first session was spent traded positions at the tip of the field, with Webber's 1:42.182 putting his squad 8 tenths clear of their sister LMP1 Porsche. Toyota however must be ecstatic with third position in the opening session, a far cry from last years dismal performance, clear of both the #7 and #8 Audi's, however it remains to be seen whether they can replicate such a performance on a bone dry track.

Team ByKolles popped up in 7th position as the best of the non-factory LMP1 efforts, ahead of Rebellion cars as the #12 Rebellion entry struggled in the damp conditions. Meanwhile, in LMP2 G-Drive picked up exactly where they left off last season as the leading LMP2 entrant, with René Rast's lap time placing the reigning champions just under a second clear of the Baxi DC entry of Panciatici, Tung, and Cheng.

In the GT classes it was Ferrari who took the honours in both GTE Pro and GTE. In the Pro category Gianmaria Bruni but his Ferrari 1.2 seconds clear of the sister #71 car, with Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen in the sole Pro Porsche coming home third. Both of the Ford GT's were next up just three tenths behind last year's GTE Pro champion, with Aston Martin bringing up the rear.

Finally GTE Am, Rui Aguas time in the AF Corse #83 was just enough to put Ferrari at the top of the category, but they stand less than a tenth clear of the Porsche Gulf Racing UK entry of Wainwright, Carroll, and Barker, with Abu-Dhabi Proton Racing rounding out the top three.

A dryer track for the second practice session gave us a little more insight into the leaders in each of the categories. Porsche once again assert their dominance in LMP1 as Webber once again led home the sister car for the top spot, with the Australian's already beating last year's pole time.This time around however it was Audi how joined Porsche in the top three just ahead of the #6 Toyota, promising that at least the battle for 3rd this weekend could be fruitful. Meanwhile the privateers were led by the two Rebellion's as we have become so used to, with Team ByKolles just under a second off the pace of the trailing #12 Rebellion entry.

In LMP2, Strakka Racing bounced back from a mediocre session this morning to lead the category going into Saturday. Their lap time was just enough to nudge the #44 Manor out of the top LMP2 spot, but regardless a competitive Manor will certainly be a welcome sight amongst the fans out at the track and watching at home. The other 'big' story of the second session was Baxi DC's fall from fame as they followed up their 2nd in class position in Free Practice One with a second from bottom finish in the second session.

GTE Pro, much like LMP1, was also pretty much unchanged as the checkered flag fell on the evening session. The two AF Corse's lined up first and second in class with Dempsey again taking third. The only real change was the #97 Aston Martin jumping ahead both of the Ford GT's compared to this morning's session.

Whilst finally in GTE Am, Gulf Racing UK went one better as they topped the class, with the ever present #98 Aston Martin hot on the Porsche's heels. This morning's category leaders AF Corse ended the session in 5th, just ahead of the KCMG Porsche Proton entry.


6 Hours of Silverstone Official Standings - Free Practice One

1. LMP1 - #1 Porsche Team (Bernhard, Webber, Hartley) - 1:42.184
2. LMP1 - #2 Porsche Team (Dumas, Jani, Lieb) - +0.814
3. LMP1 - #5 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Davidson, Buemi, Nakajima) - +1.583
4. LMP1 - #8 Audi Sport Team Joest (Di Grassi, Duval, Jarvis) - +1.735
5. LMP1 - #6 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Sarrazin, Conway, Kobayashi) - +3.754
6. LMP1 - #7 Audi Sport Team Joest (Fässler, Lotterer, Tréluyer) - +
7. LMP1 - #4 ByKolles Racing Team (Trummer, Webb, Rossiter) - +6.678
8. LMP2 - #26 G-Drive Racing (Rusinov, Berthon, Rast) - +8.246
9. LMP1 - #13 Rebellion Racing (Tuscher, Kraihamer, Imperatori) - +8.318
10. LMP2 - #35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine (Cheng, Tung, Panciatici) - +9.096
11. LMP2 - #43 RGR Sport by Morand (Gonzalez, Albuquerque, Senna)- +9.243
12. LMP2 - #45 Manor (Rao, Bradley, Merhi) - +9.610
13. LMP2 - #37 SMP Racing (Petrov, Ladygin, Shaytar) - +9.736
14. LMP2 - #42 Strakka Racing (Leventis, Watts, Kane) - +9.977
15. LMP2 - #30 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Sharp, Brown, Van Overbeek) - +10.009
16. LMP2 - #36 Signatech Alpine (Menezes, Lapierre, Richelmi) - +10.469
17. LMP2 - #31 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Dalziel, Derani, Cumming) - +10.649
18. LMP2 - #44 Manor (Graves, Stevens, Jakes) - +11.096
19. LMP1 - #12 Rebellion Racing (Prost, Piquet Jr, Heidfeld) - +11.353
20. LMP2 - #27 SMP Racing (Minassian, Mediani) - +11.890
21. GTE Pro - #51 AF Corse (Bruni, Calado) - +18.885
22. GTE Pro - #71 AF Corse (Rigon, Bird) - +20.036
23. GTE Pro - #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing (Lietz, Christensen) - +20.196
24. GTE Pro - #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Johnson, Muecke, Pla) - +20.493
25. GTE Pro - #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Franchitti, Priaulx, Tincknell) - +20.705
26. GTE Am - #83 AF Corse (Perrodo, Collard, Aguas) - +21.911
27. GTE Am - #86 Gulf Racing (Wainwright, Carroll, Barker) - +21.994
28. GTE Am - #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (Al Qubaisi, Hansson, Bachler) - +22.162
29. GTE Am - #98 Aston Martin Racing (Dalla Lana, Lamy, Lauda) - +22.440
30. GTE Am - #50 Larbre Competition (Yamagishi, Ragues, Ruberti) - +22.928
31. GTE Pro - #97 Aston Martin Racing (Stanaway, Rees) - +22.960
32. GTE Pro - #95 Aston Martin Racing (Thiim, Sørensen, Turner) - +23.646
33. GTE Am - #78 KCMG (Ried, Henzler, Camathias) - +23.777​

Free Practice Two

1. LMP1 - #1 Porsche Team (Bernhard, Webber, Hartley) - 1:39.655
2. LMP1 - #2 Porsche Team (Dumas, Jani, Lieb) - +1.689
3. LMP1 - #8 Audi Sport Team Joest (Di Grassi, Duval, Jarvis) - +1.799
4. LMP1 - #6 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Sarrazin, Conway, Kobayashi) - +1.868
5. LMP1 - #7 Audi Sport Team Joest (Fässler, Lotterer, Tréluyer) - +2.023
6. LMP1 - #5 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Davidson, Buemi, Nakajima) - +3.308
7. LMP1 - #13 Rebellion Racing (Tuscher, Kraihamer, Imperatori) - +6.773
8. LMP1 - #12 Rebellion Racing (Prost, Piquet Jr, Heidfeld) - +8.030
9. LMP1 - #4 ByKolles Racing Team (Trummer, Webb, Rossiter) - +8.935
10. LMP2 - #42 Strakka Racing (Leventis, Watts, Kane) - +9.977
11. LMP2 - #44 Manor (Graves, Stevens, Jakes) - +10.041
12. LMP2 - #36 Signatech Alpine (Menezes, Lapierre, Richelmi) - +10.102
13. LMP2 - #45 Manor (Rao, Bradley, Merhi) - +10.339
14. LMP2 - #31 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Dalziel, Derani, Cumming) - +10.371
15. LMP2 - #26 G-Drive Racing (Rusinov, Berthon, Rast) - +10.613
16. LMP2 - #43 RGR Sport by Morand (Gonzalez, Albuquerque, Senna) - +11.057
17. LMP2 - #37 SMP Racing (Petrov, Ladygin, Shaytar) - +12.291
18. LMP2 - #30 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Sharp, Brown, Van Overbeek) - +12.427
19. LMP2 - #35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine (Cheng, Tung, Panciatici) - +12.650
20. LMP2 - #27 SMP Racing (Minassian, Mediani) - +13.025
21. GTE Pro - #51 AF Corse (Bruni, Calado) - +20.452
22. GTE Pro - #71 AF Corse (Rigon, Bird) - +20.651
23. GTE Pro - #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing (Lietz, Christensen) - +21.659
24. GTE Am - #86 Gulf Racing (Wainwright, Carroll, Barker) - +22.426
25. GTE Pro - #97 Aston Martin Racing (Stanaway, Rees) - +22.870
26. GTE Pro - #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Johnson, Muecke, Pla) - +23.120
27. GTE Am - #98 Aston Martin Racing (Dalla Lana, Lamy, Lauda) - +23.133
28. GTE Am - #50 Larbre Competition (Yamagishi, Ragues, Ruberti) - +23.256
29. GTE Am - #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (Al Qubaisi, Hansson, Bachler) - +23.350
30. GTE Pro - #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Franchitti, Priaulx, Tincknell) - +23.420
31. GTE Am - #83 AF Corse (Perrodo, Collard, Aguas) - +23.574
32. GTE Pro - #95 Aston Martin Racing (Thiim, Sørensen, Turner) - +23.598
33. GTE Am - #78 KCMG (Ried, Henzler, Camathias) - +23.737​

Qualifying for the first WEC race of the season get's underway from 12:20 BST. Make sure you join RaceDepartment tomorrow for a full roundup of Saturday's events at Silverstone ahead of the 6 Hours of Silverstone on Sunday!

 

[R.J. O'Connell]

Manor near the head of the class in FP2 in 2nd and 4th. That's not bad for a bunch of F1 rejects, is it? ;P

 

[f1superracer]

That Porsche is visibly faster than anything else. What a car!

P.S. The Ford is much louder than you think it is!

 

[Adrien]

 

[Grand Tourist]

Still no news from Nissan Nismo LMP?

 

[Jack Hunsley]

Still no news from Nissan Nismo LMP?View attachment 131299 View attachment 131300

The latest news is still that the 'current' 2015 car/project has been binned as discussed here. No further news has been released but Nissan definitely won't compete in 2016, nor probably in the foreseeable future.

 

[Nick Gregory]

After the extremely short run the ZEOD RC had, and then the GT-R LM NISMO "experiment", I doubt Nissan is willing to return to LMP1 anytime soon. It could be another 10 years before Nissan makes another attempt at overall victory at Le Mans.