> Result: Official Practice 2
Alessio Picariello set the pace in second practice at Fuji where the initial damp conditions gave way to a dry race track.
Absolute’s Porsche lapped in 1m39.125s to finish 0.237s clear of Jeylyn Robotham, whose late improvement denied Patrick Pilet second place. It was a far cry from the morning session when only two cars set lap times in the heavy rain that ultimately brought practice one to an early close.
The track was by no means sodden when action began, but it was still damp enough for all cars to venture out on wet weather Pirellis. Sunshine and warming temperatures ensured they were discarded by about half-distance, and the times began tumbling as a result thereafter.
That became more pronounced when the Pros climbed aboard for the final runs. And it was Picariello who suggested the track had returned to optimum conditions by posting a time fractions slower than last year’s practice benchmark.
After aquaplaning into the wall this morning, Climax’s repaired #22 Mercedes-AMG looked set to finish second in Practice 2 thanks to Jules Gounon. But late improvements from both his team-mate Robotham and Origine’s #4 Porsche left the car fourth fastest.
The top six was completed by Markus Winkelhock (Audi Sport Asia/Absolute) and Luca Stolz, while Silver-Am championship leader Leo Ye Hongli was seventh in Origine’s other 911.
However, star of the show was undoubtedly Hiroshi Hamaguchi who occupied fourth with moments to spare. The Japanese still finished as the best placed Am in eighth.
The subsequent Am-only Bronze test is typically slower than the one featuring Pros. But Yuan Bo suggested lap times could improve further by setting a 1m39.022s – a tenth quicker than Picariello had managed.
He was the only Bronze-graded driver to beat the Belgian, while the likes of championship leader Lu Wei matched his co-driver Pilet’s lap time.
Qualifying takes place on Saturday morning before the first of this weekend’s two Fanatec GT Asia races go green at 12:40 JST.
