Cadillac topped opening practice before BMW led the way in the second session at Circuit of the Americas, as round six of this year’s eight-event FIA World Endurance Championship, the Lone Star Le Mans, got underway in hot Texan conditions
AMERICAN MANUFACTURERS ON TOP FROM THE OFF
The #12 Cadillac headed the FP1 times on home soil at COTA, with an American manufacturer likewise to the fore in LMGT3 courtesy of a TF Sport Corvette one-two.
The first track running of the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans weekend began with a 90-minute session held in hot and sunny conditions at the Circuit of the Americas.
Early problems struck the #15 BMW as Raffaele Marciello stopped on track and had to be recovered with a suspected MGU issue.
Technical issues in race control delayed the session by 50 minutes, which led to an extension being activated.
When running resumed, the fastest time was set by the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry driven by Will Stevens in the 6 Hours of São Paulo-winning Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar that he shared with Norman Nato and Alex Lynn.
Stevens’ lap of 1m53.584s was 0.129s quicker than the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Tom Gamble, Harry Tincknell and Ross Gunn.
However, the #12 car ended the FP1 session in the gravel trap at Turn 7, bringing out the red flag and an early conclusion to proceedings.
Third in Hypercar was last year’s winning #83 Ferrari AF Corse entry, as Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye looked to defend their COTA crown alongside new-for-2025 team-mate Phil Hanson.
In LMGT3, the #33 TF Sport Corvette topped the times ahead of the sister #81 for the majority of the session. Daniel Juncadella set the best lap with a 2m07.037s, eclipsing Charlie Eastwood’s effort by 0.057s.
BMW MOVES TO THE TOP IN SECOND PRACTICE
The fastest lap of the second free practice session for the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans weekend was set by the #20 BMW driven by Sheldon van der Linde.
The South African ace produced a lap of 1m51.946s, 0.4s quicker than his nearest pursuer, Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar.
Last year’s pole-sitter and early race leader, Giovinazzi, aimed to avenge the mistake that had cost the #51 crew a potential win 12 months earlier.
Continuing the hugely promising pace from FP1, Aston Martin’s The Heart of Racing Team placed third as the #009 car of Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas and Roman de Angelis clocked a 1m52.457s lap – just 0.050s shy of the #51 Ferrari.
In LMGT3, United Autosports continued their strong form at a track where they had claimed a maiden podium last year, as the #95 McLaren topped the class leaderboard.
Sean Gelael lapped in 2m06.545s to lead the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, with Rahel Frey setting a time only 0.090s slower in the car she shared with Michelle Gatting and Célia Martin.
