Racing got off to electrifying start!

Manama : There was an electric atmosphere yesterday at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) as racing got off to a brilliant start in the FIA WEC Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain weekend.

 Toyota set the pace in the weekend’s opening free practice session held as part of the ninth and final round of the World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) 2017 season.

 Diego Menchaca, meanwhile, emerged as the fastest man in the opening test of the World Series Formula V8 3.5. Pavan Ravishankar registered the best lap of the day in the MRF Challenge, and Al Faisal Al Zubair did the same in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.

Kobayashi powers Toyota to top time 

Toyota Gazoo Racing maintained their recent good form at BIC yesterday by topping the timesheet in free practice one of the WEC’s Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain.

 Kamui Kobayashi steered Toyota’s no. 7 car to a best lap of one minute 42.313 seconds around BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track.

 He was followed by teammate Kazuki Nakajima in Toyota’s no. 8 Hybrid. The pair of Japanese talents were a narrow 0.199 seconds between each other as they led the field of 26 challengers in the four competition categories.

 Trailing Toyota on the overall classification and in the LMP1 class were Andre Lotterer and Earl Bamber from world champions Porsche, who were third and fourth, respectively.

 Lotterer was behind the wheel of the no. 1 Porsche Hybrid, and he finished the early session 0.334s from first place. Bamber, part of a Porsche trio who have already clinched the drivers’ world title, followed 0.500s off the pace.

 Each of the top four were competing in the LMP1 class.

 Leading the LMP2 category was Vaillante Rebellion’s David Heinemeier Hansson, who clocked a best lap of 1:48.707 in his Oreca 07-Gibson challenger.

 In the Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) Pro, it was James Calado driving a Ferrari 488 GTE for AF Corse, who set the pace with his 1:58.579 lap.

 The LMGTE Am cars were led by Christian Ried of Dempsey-Proton Racing, who ended the session in his Porsche 911 RSR (991) with a fastest lap of 2:00.428.

Oliphant quickest in Porsche GT3 Cup’s morning session

Tom Oliphant and Al Faisal Al Zubair both opened the new season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East on a positive note today in Sakhir.

 Oliphant topped the timesheet in the series’ first practice of the weekend, but it was Al Zubair clocked the best time of the day.

 Oliphant registered a fastest lap of two minutes 03.643 seconds in free practice one.

 Classified right behind him was Charlie Frijns from the Netherlands. Only 0.108s separated the pair at the top of the session’s timesheet. Al Faisal Al Zubair of Oman came third 0.303s behind Oliphant.