BMW R&T tops second WEC practice session at BIC
TDT | Manama
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BMW R&T dominated the scene last night after setting the fastest time in the second free practice session for the Bapco Energies Bahrain 8 Hours at the Bahrain International Circuit, the “Home of Motorsport in the Middle East,” the eighth and final round of the 2025 World Endurance Championship. The team’s No. 20 trio of René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde, driving the BMW M V8 hypercar, recorded the fastest time in the 90-minute session, held under the state-of-the-art floodlights of the Bahrain International Circuit.
The team’s fastest lap time was 1 minute 48.780 seconds, the fastest of the day after the second of three free practice sessions held this week at Sakhir. The Aston Martin Thor No. 009 crew of Alex Riberas, Marco Sørensen, and Romain de Angelis – who topped the first free practice session earlier yesterday – followed with the fastest lap, just 0.262 seconds behind the leaders in their Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar.
The Peugeot Total Energies No. 93 trio of Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, and Jean-Éric Vergne finished third, 0.421 seconds off the pace in their Peugeot 9x8, while the Toyota Gazoo Racing No. 7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries rounded out the top four, 0.562 seconds behind in their GR010 Hybrid. Julian Andlauer, Mathieu Jamnet, and Lorin Heinrich, driving the No. 5 Porsche 963 Hypercar, completed the top five in the overall standings, finishing 0.638 seconds behind the leader in the World Endurance Championship category.
Porsche Penske Motorsport team In the LMGT3 class, Arnold Rubin, Finn Geritz, and Ben Barnicott of the ASCODES ASP team set the fastest time in the second free practice session, clocking 2 minutes and 2.613 seconds in their No. 78 Lexus RCF. They were 0.408 seconds faster than the Iron Dams trio of Celia Martin, Raheel Fry, and Michelle Gatting in their No. 85 Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, and Daniel Juncadella of TF Sport, in their No. 33 Corvette Z06, finished third, 0.566 seconds behind.
Ian James, Zachary Robichon, and Mattia Drudi of Hart of Racing finished 0.746 seconds behind in their No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR, while the No. 60 Iron Links crew of Andrew Gilbert, Lorcan Hanafin, and Fran Rueda finished 1.232 seconds behind in their Mercedes-AMG.
Japan’s Taichi Watarai sets fastest time in second practice session of the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East 2025/26 season, held as part of the Bapco Energies Bahrain 8 Hours endurance race at the Bahrain International Circuit. Watarai set the fastest lap time of 2 minutes and 3.578 seconds during the 45-minute session, edging out Saudi Arabia’s Saud Al Saud by 0.049 seconds.
Italy’s Max Müchleckner finished third, 0.589 seconds behind. The top three drivers compete in the Pro class. France’s Cédric Chassang set the fastest lap in the Pro-Am class with a time of 2 minutes and 5.166 seconds, while Sweden’s Christer Andreu led the Masters class with a time of 2 minutes and 5.268 seconds.
The Porsche Cup Series resumes on track at 11:10 AM, after which the starting grid for the first race, scheduled for 5:45 PM tomorrow, will be determined.
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