Home

WEC Bahrain: #7 Toyota tops wind-delayed, rain-hit first practice

The two Toyotas led the way in an interrupted first session of practice for Saturday’s World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain. 

Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastien Buemi ended up 1-2 in their respective Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars, setting their times straight after a 45-minute stoppage in Free Practice 1 for the Bahrain 8 Hours. 

The red flag resulted from a loose advertising hoarding being blown onto the track by high winds and then attention to banners elsewhere around the Bahrain International Circuit. 

Buemi had been fastest before the break with a 1m49.976s, which he improved to a 1m49.960s straight after the resumption. 

Kobayashi then went almost exactly a tenth faster with a 1m49.856s to end up quickest. 

The four Porsche 963 LMDhs in the WEC Hypercar field filled out positions three to six, the two Penske-run factory cars sandwiched between the two customer entries. 

Gianmaria Bruni was fastest of the Porsche pack in third place with a 1m50.290s set immediately after the stoppage aboard Proton Competition’s car. 

Laurens Vanthoor was just three hundredths behind in the first of the Penske cars with a 1m50.328s, while Michael Christensen was less than a tenth behind on 1m50.403s in the US team’s other entry. 

Will Stevens took sixth aboard the Jota Porsche on 1m50.507s.

Source: Autosport

Previous

Next