LMP1 practice FIA World Endurance Championship, round 5, Mexico-City (MX)
The Porsche LMP Team kicked off the race weekend with best times in Mexico City, where on Sunday the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is going to take place. On Friday the two Porsche 919 Hybrids were the fastest cars on the 4.304 kilometre long Grand Prix circuit at the million-resident metropolis.
After heavy rain over the recent days, the first practice session on the famous Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was held on a wet and then drying track early Friday evening. The 919 with car number 1 in the hands of world champion Neel Jani (CH), André Lotterer (DE) and Nick Tandy (GB) topped the time sheets with Lotterer’s best lap of 1:27.026 minutes. Earl Bamber (NZ), Timo Bernhard (DE) and Brendon Hartley (NZ) followed with a lap in 1:27.675 minutes with the sister car.
The second and third free practice sessions as well as qualifying – 18:20 until 18:40 hrs local time – will be held on Saturday. The six-hour race will start on Sunday at noon. The weather forecast is highly unpredictable.

In 2017, the Porsche LMP Team achieved a third consecutive Le Mans overall victory, won the six-hour race at the Nürburgring and now aims to also win the manufacturers’ and drivers’ world championships for the third time in a row.
The Porsche LMP Team after the first practice
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: “It was a good start for us. Despite having only 90 minutes of practice today, we got a lot of work done. The conditions allowed for driving all tyre specifications from rain tyres to intermediates to slicks. This can help a lot as it might rain in the race as well. We had all drivers on duty today and experienced no problems. Of course, the altitude of 2,250 metres above sea level is an extra challenge for the cooling of the power train and brakes, but this is the same for everybody.”
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