Toyota finishes final Silverstone practice on top

Toyota Gazoo Racing continued to set the pace at Silverstone this morning in the final FIA WEC free practice session ahead of qualifying. The 1m41.185s was the fastest time of the morning, courtesy of Kazuki Nakajima in the No. 8 TS050; the Japanese marque leading the way in all three practice sessions.

Second on the road was the first of the two Porsche 919s, the No. 1's best time a 1m40.223s from Neel Jani, 0.150 ahead of the No. 2 Porsche that finished up the hour-long session third. The two Porsches sat atop the screens early, before Nakajima bettered them before the end.

The sister Toyota car, meanwhile, didn't have such a good run and finished up fourth. Jose Maria Lopez was involved in a minor incident while out on circuit in the No. 7 TS050, when he tagged the No. 98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana while lapping the Canadian raound the outside of Becketts. The contact to the front-left of the Vantage caused a puncture and some suspension damage on the Aston. Thankfully the Toyota emerged unscathed.

Matthieu Vaxiviere topped the LMP2 class, with his early 1m44.105s for French team TDS Racing, a few tenths quicker than the G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 of Pierre Thiriet and 1.7 seconds clear of the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing's prototype.

LMGTE-Pro was a Ford Chip Ganassi UK 1-2, the #67 car of Andy Priaulx setting a 1m56.233, the sister GT a tenth shy. The fastest of car from the other teams in Pro was the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. It was a better session for the team in raw pace terms, with the best time for the new car just half a second off the Ganassi UK Fords.

The only incident in the class involved Fred Makowiecki in the No. 91 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR, who tangled with the No. 95 Aston Martin, putting it into a spin.

Despite its tangle with the Toyota, the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage ended up fastest in GTE Am, a 1m58.691s from Pedro Lamy half a second quicker than the Clearwater Racing and Spirit Of Race Ferrari 488's that concluded the morning second and third.