Kevin Estre spearheaded a dominant Porsche Penske 1-2 in WEC Sao Paulo FP2 to complete Friday practice sweep.
The second practice for Sao Paulo 6 Hours held at the iconic Interlagos circuit was a showcase of technical prowess, strategic execution, and the relentless pursuit of performance across both Hypercar and LMGT3 classes.
As the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship heats up, the FP2 session provided critical insights into the form and competitiveness of teams and drivers ahead of the main event.
The session unfolded under warm and stable conditions, a welcome contrast to the damp and disrupted opening practice. Teams arrived at FP2 with revised setups and data-driven strategies, aiming to maximize their track time on the newly resurfaced circuit.
Kevin Estre piloting the No. 6 Porsche 963 alongside Laurens Vanthoor set the benchmark with a scintillating lap time of 1:23.508, a significant improvement over the morning’s best efforts.
The competitive narrative in Hypercar was shaped early as Estre’s benchmark lap was closely shadowed by the sister No. 5 Porsche 963 with Julian Andlauer finishing a mere 0.104s adrift to cement a Porsche Penske 1-2.
The intra-team rivalry was evident with both cars pushing the limits in pursuit of marginal gains, and the engineering teams working in concert to fine-tune balance and tire management.
BMW Team WRT emerged as the nearest challenger, with Kevin Magnussen delivering a formidable 1:23.618 in the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s No. 12 entry driven by Alex Lynn slotted into fourth position, just under two tenths off the session’s benchmark.
Meanwhile, the No. 007 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie piloted by Harry Tincknell delivered a best lap of 1:24.006, to mark the British marque’s first top 5 five finish in WEC.
Sheldon van der Linde piloted the No. 20 BMW to finish sixth ahead of the Hybrid driven by Kamui Kobayashi while the sister No. 009 Aston Martin Valkyrie driven by Alex Riberas made it two cars in the top ten.
Elsewhere in Hypercar, the Ferrari AF Corse entries faced a challenging session following recent Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments. The No. 50 Ferrari 499P finished 10th while the No. 51 struggled down in 17th.
Meanwhile, Nos 94 and 93 Peugeot 9X8 entries sandwiched the Le Mans winning No. 83 AF Corse privateer in 11th and 13th respectively. Alpine A424s followed in 14th and 15th, the No. 8 Toyota GR010 in 16th while the Proton competition Porsche rounded out the Hypercar field.
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The LMGT3 class delivered its own share of drama and excitement in WEC Sao Paulo FP2 with home hero Eduardo Barrichello driving the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo to break the deadlock with a fastest lap of 1:34.493, putting his team clearly at the top of the timesheets.
This performance was significant as it interrupted the dominance of the AKKODIS ASP team as the No. 78 Lexus RC F GT3 came in a mere 0.067s to take second in the hands of Yuichi Nakayama.
The sister Lexus driven by Clemens Schmid was third fastest ahead of the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and No. 81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
The only incident of the session happened with 36 minutes remaining after Iron Lynx racer Andrew Gilbert lost the rear end of the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 at Turn 4 and went nose-first into the wall. He eventually returned to the pits under his own power but the car didn’t make a return to the track.
Final Free Practice for the 2025 Sao Paulo 6 Hours is scheduled for Saturday at 10:10 a.m. local time.
