Jani puts Porsche on top in Bahrain

No 2 Porsche ahead of the No. 8 Audi
No 2 Porsche ahead of the No. 8 Audi

Neel Jani scorched the fastest lap of the day with a 1m39.817s lap under the floodlights in night practice at Bahrain International Circuit to lead Thursday WEC practice in Bahrain. The No.2 Porsche 919 Hybrid was 0.455s quicker than the sister car of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard.

Audi was third as No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest entry headed the No.6 Toyota Gazoo Racing car by just over 0.2s

The No.7 Audi R18 and the No.5 Toyota TS 050 HYBRID placed fifth and sixth.

Rebellion Racing and ByKolles LMP1 Privateer teams were separated by just 0.4s.

G-Drive Racing led the ultra-competitive LMP2 category as Rene Rast set a series of fastest laps to peak at 1m50.056s.

The #6 Toyota was 4th quick
The #6 Toyota was 4th quick

New champions Signatech Alpine were second while the No.44 Manor Oreca finished third with Alex Lynn behind the wheel.

LMGTE Pro class was topped by Aston Martin control as No.95 title contending car driven by Marco Sorensen sets fastest time of 1m57.226s.

The No.97 Aston Martin placed second, just 0.007s behind No.95 as team stalwart Darren Turner set the fastest time.

The Ganassi Fords led the chase but were two seconds in arrears. The No.67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx beat the No.71 Ferrari 488GTE in fourth.

Results

Pos No. Team Drivers Car Class Time Behind Gap
1 2 Porsche Team R. DUMAS / N. JANI / M. LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 H 1:39.817
2 1 Porsche Team T. BERNHARD / M. WEBBER / B. HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 H 1:40.272 +0.455 +0.455
3 8 Audi Sport Team Joest L. DI GRASSI / L. DUVAL / O. JARVIS Audi R18 LMP1 H 1:40.400 +0.583 +0.128
4 6 Toyota Gazoo Racing S. SARRAZIN / M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 – Hybrid LMP1 H 1:40.603 +0.786 +0.203
5 7 Audi Sport Team Joest M. FASSLER / A. LOTTERER / B. TRELUYER Audi R18 LMP1 H 1:41.020 +1.203 +0.417
6 5 Toyota Gazoo Racing A. DAVIDSON / S. BUEMI / K. NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 – Hybrid LMP1 H 1:42.859 +3.042 +1.839
7 13 Rebellion Racing M. TUSCHER / D. KRAIHAMER / A. IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One – AER LMP1 1:47.178 +7.361 +4.319
8 4 Bykolles Racing Team S. TRUMMER / O. WEBB / P. KAFFER CLM P1/01 – AER LMP1 1:47.572 +7.755 +0.394
9 26 G-Drive Racing R. RUSINOV / R. RAST / A. BRUNDLE Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 1:50.056 +10.239 +2.484
10 36 Signatech Alpine G. MENEZES / N. LAPIERRE / S. RICHELMI Alpine A460 – Nissan LMP2 1:50.444 +10.627 +0.388
11 44 Manor M. RAO / R. BRADLEY / A. LYNN Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 1:51.023 +11.206 +0.579
12 43 RGR Sport by Morand R. GONZALEZ / F. ALBUQUERQUE / B. SENNA LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 1:51.297 +11.480 +0.274
13 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports T. DILLMANN / G. VAN DER GARDE / S. GELAEL LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 1:51.419 +11.602 +0.122
14 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports R. DALZIEL / L. DERANI / C. CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 1:51.513 +11.696 +0.094
15 45 Manor J. CANAL / R. GONZALEZ / R. MERHI Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 1:51.829 +12.012 +0.316
16 27 SMP Racing N. MINASSIAN / M. MEDIANI / M. ALESHIN BR01 – Nissan LMP2 1:52.359 +12.542 +0.530
17 35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine D. CHENG / H. TUNG / P. CHATIN Alpine A460 – Nissan LMP2 1:52.537 +12.720 +0.178
18 37 SMP Racing V. PETROV / K. LADYGIN / V. SHAITAR BR01 – Nissan LMP2 1:52.910 +13.093 +0.373
19 95 Aston Martin Racing N. THIIM / M. SORENSEN Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Pro 1:57.226 +17.409 +4.316
20 97 Aston Martin Racing J. ADAM / D. TURNER Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Pro 1:57.233 +17.416 +0.007
21 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK A. PRIAULX / H. TINCKNELL Ford GT LMGTE Pro 1:59.168 +19.351 +1.935
22 71 AF Corse D. RIGON / S. BIRD Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE Pro 1:59.231 +19.414 +0.063
23 51 AF Corse G. BRUNI / J. CALADO Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE Pro 1:59.315 +19.498 +0.084
24 98 Aston Martin Racing P. DALLA LANA / P. LAMY / M. LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Am 1:59.460 +19.643 +0.145
25 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK S. MÃœCKE / O. PLA Ford GT LMGTE Pro 1:59.658 +19.841 +0.198
26 77 Dempsey – Proton Racing R. LIETZ / M. CHRISTENSEN Porsche 911 RSR (2016) LMGTE Pro 1:59.758 +19.941 +0.100
27 50 Larbre Competition P. RAGUES / R. TAYLOR / R. BRANDELA Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 LMGTE Am 2:00.579 +20.762 +0.821
28 83 AF Corse F. PERRODO / E. COLLARD / R. AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia LMGTE Am 2:01.918 +22.101 +1.339
29 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing K. AL QUBAISI / D. HEINEMEIER HANSS / P. LONG Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 2:01.959 +22.142 +0.041
30 86 Gulf Racing M. WAINWRIGHT / A. CARROLL / B. BARKER Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 2:02.261 +22.444 +0.302
31 78 KCMG C. RIED / W. HENZLER / J. CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 2:02.350 +22.533 +0.089