Rebellion Racing shone brightest after the sun came down and the floodlights came on last evening at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), setting the overall pace in the World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) second free practice for the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The trio of Norman Nato, Bruno Senna and Gustavo Menezes powered the team’s no. 1 Gibson-powered Rebellion R13 car to a fastest lap of one minute 42.471 seconds – more than two seconds quicker than the top time set by Team LNT in the first practice session held in daylight.
The Swiss outfit were this time 1.411 seconds quicker than Team LNT, who had Jordan King, Ben Hanley and Charles Robertson behind the wheel of their no. 5 AER-powered Ginetta G60-LT-P1.
Toyota Gazoo Racing were in third and fourth for the second straight session. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez finished ahead of teammates Kazuki Nakijima, Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley in their pair of TS050 Hybrids.
Conway and crew finished with a 1.750s gap from first place while Nakijima and teammates were 2.250s behind. Each of the top four were competing in the WEC’s top-tier LMP1 class.
Taking fifth overall and leading all LMP2 teams were Jackie Chan DC Racing with the no. 37 Gibson-powered Oreca 07 driven by Ho-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry and Will Stevens. They were 3.676s from the top.
Team LNT’s no. 6 Ginetta were sixth as the last LMP1 class runners. Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Michael Simpson were 3.902s off the leading pace.
In first place amongst the LMGTE Pro cars was the no. 97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Alexander Lynn and Maxime Martin. They had a best lap of 1:55.696.
Setting the pace in the LMGTE Am class were Team Project 1 in their no. 56 Porsche 911 RSR, driven by Egidio Perfetti, David Hansson and Matteo Cairoli. Their best time was 1:56.510.
Also excelling on the first day were David Schumacher, Bent Viscaal and Leon Koehler in their respective championships supporting the WEC this weekend.
Schumacher and Viscaal shared the spoils in India-based single-seater series the MRF Challenge, while Koehler grabbed pole position for the weekend’s first race in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East.
Schumacher and Bent Viscaal took turns topping the times in the pair of free practice sessions.
Schumacher, who is the son of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher and nephew of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, was the top man in the second session with a best lap of 2:00.540. He completed 12 laps in the car.
Schumacher was 0.430 seconds quicker than Viscaal from the Netherlands while he was also 0.500s faster than Michelangelo Amendola of Belgium, who was third.
Viscaal set the early pace in the first session held in the morning. He clocked a best lap of 2:01.191 while going for 13 laps of work in the 30-minute session, which kicked off the racing action for the day.
Schumacher was second quickest. The German was just 0.065 seconds off the pace. Valdemar Eriksen of Denmark was third 0.710s behind Viscaal.
A total of 11 drivers are competing in the MRF Challenge. The MRF Challenge gets back out on track today at 10.30am for qualifying.
Action in the FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain continues today at BIC. The next WEC session is set to be a third Free Practice over 60 minutes, starting at 11.15am.
For further information on the FIA WEC Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain and the BIC National Day Festival, visit BIC’s official website www.bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000. Also, follow BIC’s official social media accounts on Facebook (facebook.com/OfficialBahrainInternationalCircuit), Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit), Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit) and YouTube (youtube.com/bahrainbic) for regular updates.