WEC 6 Hours of Austin Free Practice 1: Rebellion and Aston Martin Kick Off the Weekend

An early session like this is not common. Competitors set off at 8 a.m. on Saturday for the first free practice session in Austin.

Two hours without major incidents, only marked by a prototype losing a wheel, which caused a Full Course Yellow lasting about ten minutes.

The United Autosport LMP2 briefly took the lead in the overall standings, before the Rebellion driven by Menezes, Nato, and Senna took charge, right at the end of the first half-hour with a 1:49.957. It finished ahead of the #8 Toyota of Buemi, Hartley, and Nakajima and the United Autosport. Notably, the #7 Toyota placed eighth overall, more than two seconds behind the Rebellion.

In GTE-Pro, the two AF Corse Ferraris dominated the first half of the session, before being overtaken by the Aston Martin #97 of Martin and Lynn with a time of 2:01.838. The Porsche 92 of Estre and Bruni spent forty-five minutes in the pit before taking to the track. At one point during the session, the six permanent championship cars were within four-tenths of each other. They all finished within the same second. Only the Corvette ended slightly behind. The car is in its second race, making its WEC debut, and its two drivers, Mike Rockenfeller and Jan Magnussen, are also getting acquainted with the car.

In LMP2, it was therefore the United Autosport of Hanson, Albuquerque, and Di Resta that led the way ahead of the Jackie Chan DC Racing and Alpine.

Porsche dominated the GTE-Am class with four cars leading, including two for Dempsey-Proton Racing.

The second practice session will start at 7:45 PM French time.