Picariello surprises in FP2

Alessio Picariello (Porsche 911 GT3 R) took advantage of a disrupted Free Practice 2 (FP2) session yesterday afternoon to top the time sheets in the FIA GT World Cup.

The Guia Circuit was relatively dry compared to the morning session, and Picariello made the most of the frequent interruptions caused by on-track incidents to clock in a fast lap at 2:21.329.

Closely behind him was Laurens Vanthoor, also in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, highlighting the Absolute Racing Team’s success in finding the best setup for the unpredictable track conditions, with a mix of wet and dry areas.

The third best performance was Daniel Serra (Ferrari 296 GT3), who posted a personal best of 2:21.937.

The Top 5 was rounded out by two BMW M4 GT3s, from reigning champion Raffaele Marciello and Augusto Farfus.

Earlier in the day, Edoardo Mortara (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2) topped the time sheets during the FP1 with a best of 2:33.309 in very damp conditions. However, Mortara could only manage the 10th best time in the FP2, with a time of 2:25.281.

While these results are somewhat deceiving due to the ever-changing track conditions, it is clear that Porsche has a theoretical advantage in today’s Qualifying session of the GT3 cars, to take place at 2:05 p.m.

The results from today’s Qualifying form the grid of the 12-lap Qualification Race scheduled for Saturday at 1:50 p.m. before the grand finale on Sunday.