Mexico WEC: Hartley Porsche fastest in final practice

Hartley lapped in 1m25.387s just 10 minutes into the hour-long session before handing over to reigning world champion teammate Mark Webber.

Hartley’s quickest lap was 0.118s faster than Andre Lotterer’s best in the #7 Audi. The sister #8 Audi was third quickest, just over a quarter of a second off the pace, with the points-leading #2 Porsche in fourth, 0.46s in arrears.

The #7 Audi had to make do with only two drivers on the roster, as Benoit Treluyer has again been ruled out of action due to a back injury.

The tight and twisty confines of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez led to plenty of action: Webber had a close call with the #78 GTE Am Porsche of Joel Camathias, and brought his 919 back to the pits with smoking rear brakes after running straight on at Turn 12.

Later, Timo Bernhard worried Gianmaria Bruni’s Ferrari off the track at Turn 12. Bruni received a black-and-white flag for exceeding track limits.

In the #2 Porsche, Jani struggled to pass Marco Sorensen in #95 Aston through the Esses – taking to the run-off to do so.

The #6 Toyota returned to the fray after its big crash in testing yesterday that required the car being rebuilt around a spare chassis. It finished the session fifth fastest, 1.061s off the pace, with the #5 car 0.4s slower.

Rene Rast continued to own the LMP2 class for G-Drive, improving his opening gambit of 1m35.771s to 1m35.555s.

Aston dominating GTE Pro

There was a private duel between the Astons in GTE Pro, with Richie Stanaway setting the benchmark at 1m40.363s in the #97 car. Marco Sorenson eclipsed that in the #95 version at 1m39.572s, but Stanaway grabbed P1 back with a lap of 1m39.496s.

Ford was best of the rest, ahead of the KCMG Porsche and the AF Corse Ferraris.

Top spot in GTE Am continued to be the preserve of Porsche, with the #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton machine on top this time.