Alex Lynn’s impressive performance in the final practice session for the Lone Star Le Mans has set the stage for an exciting weekend for Cadillac at the WEC COTA.
In a thrilling final practice session ahead of the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Alex Lynn powered the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R to the top of the timesheets, setting the stage for an exciting qualifying and race weekend in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The final practice session lasted 60 minutes and was characterized by high humidity levels of 75% and a track temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. These conditions posed a challenge for the teams as they prepared for qualifying, with tire performance being a crucial factor.
Lynn set the fastest lap early in the session with a time of 1:51.471, showcasing the Cadillac’s potential on the COTA circuit.
“Yesterday, on theoretical lap time, we were P1 as well,” Lynn said. “I think we’re very competitive on long run as well as short runs. I think we’ve got the car to get a good result and now we just have to stay focused and bank that result.”
The Brit’s performance was not just a flash in the pan; he maintained his position at the top of the timesheets for the majority of the session. His closest rival was Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P who finished just 0.040 seconds behind, clocking a time of 1:51.511.
Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi rounded out the top three in the No. 7 GR010 Hybrid, as Robert Kubica put the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499p fourth-fastest, a single thousandth of a second behind Kobayashi and narrowly ahead of Sebastien Buemi in the No. 8 Toyota.
The No. 12 customer Jota 963 finished sixth and was the fastest Porsche thanks to Norman Nato’s lap time of 1m51.712s. The No. 51 Ferrari 499p was seventh, 0.296 seconds off the pace with Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel.
Mick Schumacher finished in eighth place in the No. 36 Alpine with a timing just 0.324 seconds slower than Lynn’s fastest. Julien Andlauer finished ninth in the Proton Porsche, ahead of 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button in the No. 38 Jota Sport Porsche 963.
The top eight cars were covered by just 0.324 seconds, and the top ten by 0.383 seconds, in a highly competitive session. Less than two seconds covered the entire 18-car Hypercar field.
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 6 car of Laurens Vanthoor and the No. 5 of Matt Campbell were 11th and 12th respectively, in a low-key session for the works Porsches as the sister Alpine came in 13th.
Further back Peugeot struggled to 14th and 15th respectively, while BMW had an even tougher session en route to 16th and 18th as they sandwiched the sole Lamborghini entry.
In the LMGT3 class, TF Sport’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs locked out the top two positions, with FP2 pacesetter Daniel Juncadella’s No. 82 car topping the charts with a 2:05.178 on his final lap, about half a second quicker than his Friday benchmark.
That demoted Charlie Eastwood in the sister No. 81 car to second. Meanwhile Davide Rigon’s late improvement in the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 saw him jump up to third, ahead of Gregoire Saucy’s No. 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Ian James.
The session was largely drama-free, apart from a brief full-course yellow for minor debris on the track. Teams and drivers faced 75% humidity and a track temperature of 35 degrees Celsius during the session, as preparations continued for the all-important qualifying.
