Earl Bamber topped the timesheets in the second Prologue session for the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season, setting a 1:48:429 in the #2 Cadillac V.Series-R.
This was a 0.014 faster than the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, with Sebastien Buemi at the wheel — but the Cadillac was still ultimately slower than the fastest lap of the Prologue so far, Jose Maria Lopez’s 1:48.208 in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. That car was third quickest, Lopez going 0.124 slower than Lynn. Both Toyotas set the most laps, with #8 lapping Sebring 74 times and #7 doing four less.
The leading Cadillac, for that matter, did 58 laps.
The two Ferraris were next quickest, Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari 499P in front of Antonio Giovinazzi in the sister #51. However, they were both around a second off the pace, with #50 doing 35 laps and #51 doing 55.
In sixth and seventh were the Porsche duo, with Fred Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963 setting a 1:49.657 and Laurens Vanthoor, behind the wheel of the teamcar #6 Porsche, just over three tenths slower. Both set a very similar number of laps; the #5 finished on 41 and the #6 on 40.
Nico Muller was eighth fastest in the #94 Peugeot 9X8. Unfortunately, the sister #93 Peugeot crashed with Jean-Eric Vergne at the wheel, finishing the session 13th fastest after doing just 12 laps. It was the first of three red flags in the session, with the #31 WRT Oreca 07-Gibson breaking down on track and needing to be recovered.
The two non-hybrid Hypercars were again slower than the hybrids and were in the same order as in the first session. #708 Glickenhaus, with Ryan Briscoe driving, set a 1:52.210 to go 17th quickest after doing 46 laps, while the #4 Vanwall Vandervell #680 did a 1:52.987 with Tom Dillmann at the wheel, doing 53 laps and going 22nd fastest.
Over in LMP2, Phil Hanson was quickest for the second session in a row in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, setting a 1:51.492. Daniil Kvyat was next up in the #63 Prema Oreca 07-Gibson, just 0.042 slower than Hanson. Third in class was Louis Deletraz in the #41 WRT Oreca 07-Gibson, five hundredths off Kvyat.
In GTE-Am, Michelle Gatting topped the session for the second session in a row in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19, with a 1:59.201. Ulysse De Pauw was second fastest, in #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, 0.261 off Gatting, while Julien Andlauer was third in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19, a few hundredths off De Pauw.
