Ferrari 1-2 in fp1 at cota as mclaren impresses in lmgt3

Here's the thing, Ferrari AF Corse is not messing about. The opening Free Practice session for the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans at near Austin in Texas roared into life under cloudy skies and high humidity, and the factory squad immediately seized the initiative with a stunning 1-2 punch in the Hypercar class.

laid down the law with an ultimate fastest lap of 1m53.824s in the #51 machine, which he shares alongside fellow reigning champions and . That blistering effort was precisely 0.205s quicker than 's early marker in the #50 sister car, as the crew hunts down its second podium finish of the season.

Behind the red beasts, Alpine Endurance Team started the weekend with plenty of muscle. The #36 entry driven by , and grabbed the third-best lap. They just shaded the #8 TOYOTA RACING Hypercar belonging to , and , which had to settle for fourth. then split the Toyotas with a late-session flyer of 1m54.336, beating the #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid by a razor-thin 0.059s margin.

Looking for a home hero? The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry put in the seventh-fastest lap as Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken worked their programme hard in pursuit of a first win of the 2026 FIA WEC campaign. Rounding out the top ten after 90 minutes of track action were the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, the #19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001, and the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8.

Over in the LMGT3 category, McLaren absolutely ruled the roost. Tom Fleming delivered a gorgeous 1m06.016s lap for the Garage 59-run car, leaving the competition scrambling. The talented young Brit lapped 0.2s faster than the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG shared by Rui Andrade, Martin Berry and Maxime Martin. McLaren's pace was no fluke either, with the #58 sister car of Alexander West, Benjamin Goethe and Finn Gehrsitz slotting neatly into third.

The fastest Ferrari 296 on track belonged to the #21 VISTA AF Corse crew of Simon Mann, François Hériau and Alessio Rovera. They headed up the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage and the leading Ford Mustang fielded by Proton Competition—the #88 machine piloted by American ace Logan Sergeant alongside Italian duo Giammarco Levorato and Stefano Gattuso, with Levorato having previously taken pole position in the corresponding race at COTA last season. Meanwhile, the championship-leading #33 TF Sport Corvette had a quiet start to the weekend, with Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and the returning Nicky Catsburg ending the session down in 16th place.