The FIA World Endurance Championship’s 8 Hours of Bahrain kicked off under intense sunshine at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Peugeot’s Paul di Resta dominating the Hypercar field in the first free practice session. In sweltering conditions, with temperatures above 30°C and track surface hitting 40°C, di Resta’s performance in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 set a blistering pace at 1:50.837.
Peugeot came out strong right from the green flag, positioning itself as the team to beat. Di Resta’s #94 was closely followed by teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, who initially held third in the #93 car but later settled into fourth.
Ferrari’s AF Corse team, fresh off a season-first victory at Fuji, also showed competitive form. The #51 Ferrari 499P, piloted by Antonio Giovinazzi, secured third with a time of 1:51.041, right behind Frederic Makowiecki’s #5 Porsche Penske 963, who took second with a 1:50.886. Laurens Vanthoor, driving the #6 Porsche Penske, rounded out the Hypercar top-five with a 1:51.116.
In the LMGT3 category, the #78 Akoddis ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3, driven by Kelvin van der Linde, was quickest with a time of 2:02.079. The #55 Ferrari of AF Corse, with Alessio Rovera behind the wheel, followed closely in second, while Iron Lynx’s #60 Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 EVO2, driven by Matteo Cairoli, took third. The session saw a brief full-course yellow with 25 minutes to go for testing, keeping the drama to a minimum as teams worked through setups.
The stage is set for an electrifying weekend in Bahrain as the final round of the WEC season unfolds. With Free Practice 2 scheduled for 5:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. GMT), teams have limited time to fine-tune their strategies and gear up for the high-stakes finale.
