The Lone Star Le Mans historically held on the Circuit of the Americas returned for the primary time since 2020, taking part in host to spherical six of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. The opening day of the occasion featured two observe periods held on the partially resurfaced 5.5-kilometre format
Porsche Penske leads the way in which in FP1
Porsche Penske set the tone within the Hypercar class throughout Free Observe 1, with Matt Campbell within the #5 automobile clocking the quickest lap at 1:53.574s. Robert Kubica within the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P had initially led the session with a 1:54.034s lap, securing second place. Oliver Rasmussen within the #38 Hertz Crew Jota Porsche adopted carefully, ending third simply 0.017s behind Kubica.
Ferrari’s sturdy presence continued with Antonio Fuoco inserting fourth within the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, whereas Antonio Giovinazzi’s late effort secured fifth within the #51 Ferrari. Cadillac Racing, led by Alex Lynn within the V-Sequence.R Hypercar, ended the session in sixth place. The #6 Porsche Penske, pushed by championship leaders Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor, took seventh.
BMW’s #20 M Hybrid Hypercar, piloted by Rene Rast, completed eighth, with the sister automobile in ninth. The highest 10 was rounded out by Nyck de Vries within the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hypercar.
The session confronted temporary interruptions, together with an early crimson flag for a procedural test and a full course yellow after the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini stopped on monitor.
In LMGT3, Alessio Rovera within the #55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 topped the timesheets with a 2:06.316s lap. The #88 Proton Competitors Ford Mustang, pushed by Dennis Olsen, adopted carefully in second place, simply 0.159s behind. Ben Barker within the #77 Proton Ford Mustang secured third, solely 0.2s off the tempo.
TF Sport’s Corvette GT3 vehicles carried out effectively, with the #81 and #82 entries ending fourth and fifth, respectively. The Coronary heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, pushed by Daniel Mancinelli, accomplished the highest six.
Ferrari dominates FP2
The second session noticed Ferrari take management of the Hypercar class. Antonio Giovinazzi within the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P posted the quickest lap of the day at 1:52.268s, with teammate Antonio Fuoco simply 0.052s behind within the #50 automobile.
BMW’s #20 Hypercar, pushed by Sheldon van der Linde, was third, regardless of ending the session early after a spin. Cadillac Racing’s Alex Lynn positioned fourth, whereas Robert Kubica’s #83 Ferrari completed fifth.
Toyota improved within the afternoon session, with Sebastien Buemi’s #8 GR010 Hypercar ending sixth. Mike Conway’s #7 Toyota rounded out the highest 10.
In LMGT3, TF Sport’s Corvette Z06, pushed by Daniel Juncadella, topped the timesheets with a 2:05.868s lap. The #55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari, quickest in FP1, positioned second, adopted by the #54 sister automobile in third.
As groups fine-tuned their setups, the opening day set the stage for an exciting weekend at COTA, with Friday set to stage the ultimate free observe session of the weekend in addition to the all-important qualifying.
