Aston Martin sets fastest time in practice at the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Austin

The first day of practice in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the fifth race weekend of the 2026 season has come to an end – with Aston Martin leading the field. Harry Tincknell, who is sharing a Valkyrie with Tom Gamble, completed a lap of the 5.513-kilometre circuit in exactly 1:52.567 minutes, making him the fastest of the field.

“It’s obviously great to be at the top of the timesheets today and to have set the fastest overall time. In qualifying, we just need to put in a clean lap, try to fight for pole position and give it our all,” said Tincknell. “The car has lots of good qualities, but there are also a few areas where we can definitely improve. It’s a good circuit with plenty of high-speed sections and changes of direction where you have to be wide awake. The traffic here is also a challenge, but at the same time it offers the chance to make a difference.”

Trailing by 0.122 seconds, second place on the day went to the Alpine A424 driven by António Félix da Costa, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi. Close behind in third place was the Genesis GMR-001 hypercar driven by Luis Felipe Derani, André Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert, who were 0.244 seconds behind. In fourth place, 0.287 seconds behind, were Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Victor Martin in the second Alpine.

The top five was rounded off by the Ferrari 499P driven by Philip Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. This is the yellow 499P entered privately by AF Corse. Aston Martin also had cause for celebration in the LMGT3 class. The fastest time of 2:05.609 minutes was set by the Vantage AMR LMGT3 driven by Mattia Drudi, Ian James and Zacharie Robichon. The third free practice session and qualifying/Hyperpole will now take place in Austin on Saturday. Here is a list of how to watch the action.

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FIM EWC: 24 Stunden Bol d'Or

FIM Endurance World Championship

19.09.2026 - 14:30