Jamie Day put Walkenhorst Motorsport on top in GTWC Europe Sprint Cup Magny-Cours, as worsening rain brought the second practice session (FP2) to an early halt.
The #34 Aston Martin driver set the benchmark with a 1:54.168, leading the session in difficult wet conditions. The lap sat far away from the dry pace seen earlier in FP1, but it proved enough to keep Day at the top before the red flag stopped running with more than 30 minutes remaining.
Day handles wet conditions best
The changing conditions made the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup Magny-Cours FP2 a very different test from the opening practice session. Instead of chasing outright pace on a dry track, drivers had to judge grip, visibility and risk as rain affected the French circuit.
Day adapted best and put the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin ahead of the field. His effort also made him the fastest Silver Cup runner, giving Walkenhorst a strong end to Friday despite the limited running.
Winward remains near the front
Marvin Dienst continued Winward Racing’s strong Friday by finishing second in the #87 Mercedes-AMG. He had also placed second in FP1, showing the car had pace across both dry and wet conditions.
Maro Engel completed the top three in the sister Winward Mercedes-AMG, although Dienst held a margin of almost half a second over him in FP2.
Boutsen VDS Porsche shows consistency
Boutsen VDS also impressed as the #10 Porsche moved into fourth with Robin Knutsson behind the wheel. The car had already shown speed earlier in the day and improved one position compared with FP1.
That result also meant the top four featured the leading cars from three different classes. Day led the Silver Cup runners, Dienst topped Bronze Cup, and Knutsson finished fastest in Gold Cup.
The worsening conditions shaped the final order in the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup Magny-Cours, with only 26 of the 44 cars setting a lap time before the FP2 session stopped.
Among those without a time were FP1 pacesetter Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, the #46 Team WRT BMW, both AF Corse Ferraris and both Garage 59 McLarens.
Teams now turn their focus to Saturday, when Magny-Cours is expected to return to warmer and sunnier conditions. Qualifying 1 is scheduled for 14:55, before Race 1 begins later in the evening at 21:05.
GTWC Europe Sprint Cup Magny-Cours FP2 results
- #34 M. Villagomez / J. Day — Walkenhorst Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, Silver — 1:54.168
- #87 M. Dienst / R. Salikhov — Winward Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 1:54.233
- #48 L. Auer / M. Engel — Winward Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Pro — 1:54.643
- #10 G. Magnus / R. Knutsson — Boutsen VDS, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Gold — 1:54.680
- #7 K. Pauwels / N. Thiim — Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, Pro — 1:54.749
- #96 L. Engstler / P. Niederhauser — Rutronik Racing, Lamborghini Temerario GT3, Pro — 1:55.063
- #26 J. Pla / M. Blanchemain — Saintéloc Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, Bronze Cup — 1:55.123
- #66 A. Frassineti / A. Levi — Tresor Attempto Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, Silver — 1:55.353
- #74 D. Marschall / D. Blattner — Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 1:55.642
- #9 M. Pedersen / A. Malykhin — Pure Rxcing, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Silver — 1:55.683
- #2 A. Picariello / D. Boccolacci — Boutsen VDS, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Pro — 1:55.785
- #71 C. Bennett / F. Hirsiger — AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Silver — 1:55.890
- #80 B. Buus / R. Feller — Lionspeed GP, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Pro — 1:55.898
- #111 J. Kell / A. Rougier — CSA Racing, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Gold — 1:56.243
- #93 E. Cheever / P. Dempsey — Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Bronze Cup — 1:56.296
- #21 O. Söderström / A. Dorison — Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, Silver — 1:56.315
- #27 D. Fumanelli / M. Pulcini — Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 1:56.697
- #54 T. Sathienthirakul / M. Kastelic — Dinamic GT, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Silver — 1:57.085
- #5 G. Oliveira / M. Porter — Optimum Motorsport, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Silver — 1:57.638
- #222 K. Jewiss / C. Dawson — 2Seas Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 1:58.400
- #84 S. Reicher / C. Haase — Eastalent Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, Pro — 1:58.854
- #77 J. Rappange / D. Pittard — KPX Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Gold — 1:59.006
- #6 A. Bartone / A. Panis — GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Silver — 1:59.833
- #991 A. Farfus / D. Leung — Paradine Competition, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 2:00.243
- #11 F. Jelmini / M. Tomasoni — Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup — 2:02.025
- #555 S. Gachet / R. Andriolo — CSA Racing, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Gold — 2:05.786
Not classified
- #3 J. Gounon / D. Juncadella — Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Pro
- #12 F. Schiller / G. Rindone — GetSpeed Team Dubai, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Bronze Cup
- #14 K. Lappalainen / M. Cairoli — Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Pro
- #35 G. Simon / M. Robin — Walkenhorst Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, Silver
- #46 M. Hesse / V. Rossi — Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Pro
- #50 T. Neubauer / A. Leclerc — AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Pro
- #51 T. Mosca / M. Zagazeta — AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Gold
- #55 L. Cabirou / D. Gvazava — Dinamic GT, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) EVO, Bronze Cup
- #58 T. Fleming / L. Prette — Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Gold
- #59 D. Macdonald / M. Kirchhöfer — Garage 59, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Pro
- #69 T. Vermeulen / B. Green — Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, Pro
- #88 S. Øgaard / C. Schreiner — Tresor Attempto Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, Bronze Cup
