BMW WRT’s Dries Vanthoor laid down the fastest lap in the second free practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 8 Hours of Bahrain, setting the stage for an exciting season finale. As track temperatures cooled significantly from FP1, teams seized the chance to simulate night racing conditions crucial for Saturday’s day-to-night race.
Vanthoor’s #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 set a blistering lap time of 1:48.257, marking an impressive leap ahead in a session punctuated by minor disruptions but no major incidents. One such incident saw debris cleared under a full-course yellow at Turn 8, followed by a separate debris issue at Turn 1 involving D’station Racing’s Clement Mateu and AF Corse’s Alessandrio Pier Guidi. Stewards issued a reprimand to Pier Guidi for contact with Mateu’s #777 Aston Martin Vantage.
Following Vanthoor, Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche 963 clocked a close 1:48.311 to secure second. Antonio Giovinazzi placed the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P in third with a 1:48.472, and Nyck de Vries was just behind in the #7 Toyota GAZOO Racing with a 1:48.647 lap. Rounding out the top five was Antonio Fuoco, driving the #50 AF Corse Ferrari to a time of 1:48.701.
In LMGT3, Esteban Masson topped the charts in the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F with a 2:02.246, followed by Hiroshi Koizumi’s 2:02.901 in the #82 TF Sport Corvette. Francois Heriau secured third for AF Corse with a 2:02.991 in the #55 Ferrari, while Sarah Bovy’s Iron Dames Lamborghini slotted into fourth at 2:03.095. Conrad Laursen completed the top five for Akkodis ASP with a 2:03.444 in the #78 Lexus.
Teams now look to fine-tune setups in tomorrow’s final free practice session, running from 12pm to 1pm local time (9am to 10am GMT) before heading into the last race of the 2024 WEC season. With competitive lap times and tight field gaps, Bahrain’s season finale promises an intense battle under the lights.
