LMP2 teams once again topped the timesheets in the second session of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue, as Hypercars squads notably lagged behind on the opening day of running.
Like in the morning session, the quickest time of the afternoon was once again set by the #22 United Autosports ORECA 07-Gibson in the hands of Phil Hanson.
Hanson outpaced the #29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA of Job van Uitert by just 0.001s, with Team WRT’s #31 ORECA in third place.
Behind the top three LMP2 cars was the quickest Hypercar, as the #36 Alpine A480-Gibson went fourth overall and 0.408s behind Hanson. The #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid was a just under two-tenths down in sixth place overall.
The #7 Toyota had very little running and completed just six laps throughout the session, suffering from reported hydraulic and electrical issues in a curious opening day for the new Hypercar category.
Behind the Hypercars, the LMP2 top five was rounded out by Realteam Racing and JOTA’s #38 ORECA 07-Gibson.
More stoppages
After the morning session was interrupted three times, twice for significant incidents at Eau Rouge and Raidillon, the afternoon session brought more incidents and two more red flags.
The first occurred for two incidents that took place at the same time, but at different ends of the track. Anders Buchardt found the barriers at Bruxelles aboard the #46 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR-19, curtailing the car’s running for the day.
More serious was Sean Gelael’s crash at Raidillon as the #28 JOTA ORECA 07-Gibson found the wall and suffered extensive damage, requiring a significant rebuild effort.
A fifth and final red flag for the day was brought out when Team WRT’s #31 ORECA 07-Gibson became stranded out on track.
Porsche shows pace in GTE
After leading the morning session, Porsche’s Kevin Estre continued to lead the way in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19.
The Frenchman topped the sheets with a 02:14:304, roughly three tenths clear of the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Miguel Molina.
The sister Porsche completed the top three in GTE Pro, but like in the morning session, the class was split by the fastest car in GTE Am.
This time, it was Porsche junior Matteo Cairoli in the #56 Team Project Porsche 911 RSR-19, posting a 02:14:740.
The top three in GTE AM was completed by the pair of AF Corse Ferraris, with Alessio Rovera’s #83 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo second ahead of the #54 car.
