Toyota set pace in WEC practices

TDT | Manama                                              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Toyota Gazoo Racing made their intentions known yesterday as the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain flagged off at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. The Japanese manufacturers topped the times in both of the day’s practices in the final round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Toyota’s #7 crew of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez were the pace-setters in each session in their Toyota GR010 Hybrid. They led teammates Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Hybrid atop the timesheets on both occasions.

In the evening running, held under BIC’s bright floodlights, Kobayashi- Conway-Lopez clocked a best lap time of one minute 46.851 seconds, which was more than three seconds quicker than their best mark from the rain-hit first practice, held earlier in the day.

Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa were 0.461 seconds off their pace, while Cadillac Racing’s #2 crew of Earl Bamber, Alexander Lynn and Richard Westbrook were third overall in their Cadillac V-Series.R Hybrid.

Hertz Team JOTA’s #38 Porsche 963 ranked fourth overall and amongst the Hypercars, while Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 car was fifth, with Peugeot TotalEnergies’ #94 Peugeot 9X8 in sixth. Seventh through 12th, respectively, in the WEC’s top-tier category were Proton Competition’s #99 Porsche 963, Peugeot TotalEnergies’ #93 crew, Porsche Penske’s #5 crew, the #50 and #51 Ferrari AF Corse contenders and Floyd Vanwall Racing Team’s #4 Vanwall Vandervell 680.

Leading the LMP2 class once again were United Autosports’ #22 trio of Frederick Lubin, Philip Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque, who clocked a best lap of 1:52.850. Prema Racing’s and Alpine Elf Team followed.

Amongst the LMGTE Am cars, Kessel Racing’s #57 crew of Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson and Daniel Serra topped their class. They had a fastest lap of 1:58.246 in their Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. GR Racing and Project 1-AO followed in class.

Sudden downpour

In yesterday’s first WEC practice, Toyota Gazoo Racing overcame a sudden downpour to top the times. Kobayashi-Conway-Lopez posted a best lap of 1:49.856, with Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa just over a tenth-of-a-second behind.

Proton Competition’s #99 crew of Harry Tincknell, Neel Jani and Gianmaria Bruni completed the overall top three 0.434s back in their Porsche 963 Hybrid. In the LMP2 class, Lubin-Hanson-Albuquerque were quickest with a best lap of 1:54.100.

Vector Sport’s #10 car and Team WRT’s #31 challenger joined them in the top three. In the LMGTE Am category, D’Station Racing’s #777 trio of Liam Talbot, Casper Stevenson and Tomonobu Fujii set the pace with a fastest time of 1:59.516 in their Aston Martin Vantage AMR.

Kessel Racing’s #57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo were second and GR Racing’s #86 Porsche 911 RSR-19 came third. The 36-car WEC field of Hybrids and sportscars returns to the tarmac today with a 60-minute third practice scheduled for a 12noon start, to be followed later in the afternoon by qualifying at 4.15pm.

The WEC’s three categories will be out on track in separate qualifying sessions, starting with the LMGTE Am class. The LMP2 runners will go out next and then the Hypercar contenders will battle for pole. This year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain marks the 12th time the WEC is racing in Sakhir.

Saturday’s main event is the fifth time the Kingdom’s WEC race is taking place in its current eight-hour format. BIC will be opening its gates today and tomorrow for fans to enjoy watching endurance motorsport’s best teams and drivers go wheel to wheel in their iconic and technologically superior Hybrid cars and sportscars. Gates are scheduled to be open from 11am to 6.30pm today and from 10.30am to 10.30pm tomorrow.