On the second day of the WEC 2024 tests in Qatar, Frederic Makowiecki showcased his driving skill at the helm of the Porsche 963 from Penske Motorsport, leading both test periods on Tuesday. This French driver, with a notable career, clocked a time of 1m41.223 in the morning session, edging out Stoffel Vandoorne of Peugeot TotalEnergies by a minimal margin.
During the first half of the three-hour session, Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne, both from Peugeot, showed outstanding performance with the Peugeot 9X8 even without the major update they have planned for this year. However, it was Makowiecki who eventually recorded the fastest time. Kevin Estre, Makowiecki's colleague at Porsche, achieved the third-best time with a record of 1m41.420, and Vergne was in fourth position.
The Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by the trio of Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Lynn, and Earl Bamber, marked a time of 1m41.652s. In sixth position was the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, the vehicle of the current champion team, with a time of 1m41.789s achieved by Nyck de Vries.
The morning session was interrupted by two pauses for track cleaning. Additionally, the Alpine Endurance team had a technical setback with Charles Milesi driving the Alpine A424.
In the afternoon session, Makowiecki improved his own record, with a time of 1m40.404s, outpacing the Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by Alex Lynn, who obtained the second-best time of the day. The new Ferrari AF Corse 499P, with Yifei Ye as driver, ranked third with a time of 1m40.749s.
In the LMGT3 category, the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo from D'Station Racing, driven by Marco Sorensen, achieved the best time with 1m54.791. He was closely followed by Davide Rigon in the Ferrari 296 GT3 of AF Corse, while Daniel Juncadella took third place with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of TF Sport.
Erwan Bastard, in his first participation in WEC, marked a category-leading time of 1m54.778s in the afternoon session, keeping the Aston-Martin of D'Station at the top of the table, albeit slightly below Sorensen's time. Francesco Castellacci, driving the Ferrari of Vista AF Corse, came in second, followed by Kelvin van der Linde with the Lexus of Akkodis ASP.
The event continues with free practices and qualifying sessions scheduled between February 29 and March 1, culminating with the main race on Saturday, March 2.
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