WEC: Toyota leads Thursday practice in Bahrain

Toyota Racing overcame challenging conditions to lead Thursday practice for the title-deciding 8 Hours of Bahrain WEC race.

High winds and heavy rain combined with red flags at the Bahrain International Circuit made the going difficult but Toyota ran 1-2 in both Practice 1 and 2.

Kamui Kobayashi’s best lap of 1min 46.851secs was the fastest in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Mike Conway and José María López. The #8 crew of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were second overall.

The Toyota team is already confirmed as the manufacturers’ World Champions for the fifth consecutive season and is in prime position to add the drivers’ crown in the seventh and final race of the year, at a track where it has won eight of the 11 WEC races.

Reigning champions Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in their #8 GR010 HYBRID, lead team-mates Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López, in the #7 car, by 15 points with 39 available in Bahrain. Both Ferraris are also still in the hunt.

First practice began at lunchtime but was red flagged after just nine minutes due to the unusually bad weather, which included strong gusting winds. Action resumed after a delay of 45 minutes; however, heavy rain created a new challenge and the two GR010 HYBRIDs completed the remainder of an extended session on wet tires.

Track conditions gave no opportunity for improved lap times and the #7 GR010 HYBRID crew therefore ended the session at the top of the timesheets thanks to Kamui’s early flying lap. Sébastien’s best effort in the #8 car made it a one-two for the team.

The weather improved for second practice, taking place after sunset and with floodlights illuminating the 5.412km circuit.

Alex Lynn completed the top three ahead of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Will Stevens’ No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 outpacing the Porsche Penske Motorsport machine of Kevin Estre to complete the top five.

In LMP2 United’s #22 ORECA set the fastest time again, with Filipe Albuquerque improving on his FP1 flyer with a 1:52.850, three-tenths up on the #63 PREMA and #36 Alpine ORECAs that slotted in second and third in the class.

Kessel Racing’s Daniel Serra led the way in GTE-Am by reeling off a 1:58.246 at the wheel of the No. 57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo he shares with Takeshi Kimura and Esteban Masson.

Riccardo Pera slotted into second aboard the No. 86 GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19, ahead of Matteo Cairoli.

Thursday Fast Times (Practice 2 as Practice 1 was wet)