Alright, picture this: it’s a sun-soaked, chaos-filled day at Interlagos. Porsche Penske Motorsport decided to shake up the FIA World Endurance Championship in São Paulo – you know, that Rolex 6 Hours thing. They kicked off with two Free Practice sessions. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. But, wow, they kind of nailed it.
So, Porsche is in this nail-biter Hypercar fight. Title drama? Yes, please. Vanthoor and Estre set the pace and everyone else just sorta had to deal with it. The first session was all about Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche 963, clocking a 1:25.175. Just edged out Ferrari’s Fuoco by, like, 0.084 seconds. That’s what? A sneeze? BMW’s Rast wasn’t far behind, with his car dancing around, just a measly 0.070 seconds slower.
And Toyota? Well, Conway did his thing in the #7 car, holding fourth. Meanwhile, Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota took a scenic route to 16th. Bit awkward, but hey, Buemi wasn’t around for the first time in ages.
FP2? Estre showed off with a 1:23.508 lap, while the #5 Porsche wasn’t far behind. Can we talk about Dries Vanthoor for a sec? I mean, he and that BMW seemed to gel – just 0.006 seconds off Andlauer’s pace. Close, right?
Alex Lynn drove Cadillac’s #12 into fourth, but let’s pause for Aston Martin’s Tincknell. A little surprise there! Fifth place with a snazzy 1:24.005. BMW’s van der Linde rounded it out – the top six cars practically breathing down each other’s necks.
In the LMGT3 category, day one got snatched by Akkodis ASP Team, doing a Lexus one-two. López topped with 1:35.010 and Gehrsitz wasn’t far behind. FP2 had a twist, though. Local hero Rubens Barrichello’s kid, Eduardo, got everyone on their feet with the #777 Aston Martin. Fastest in class with a slick 1:34.493. Fun times, right?
Maybe this whole endurance racing thing needs a new theme. Speed, drama, a dash of local heroics. Who knows what’ll happen next? I’ll just have to keep watching.
