TOYOTA GAZOO Racing overcame challenging conditions on a disrupted first day of practice for the title-deciding 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
High winds and heavy rain combined with red flags at the Bahrain International Circuit, where the destination of the drivers World Championship will be determined at the end of Saturday’s race, but TOYOTA GAZOO Racing set the pace on the opening day.
The 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.
“That was first time I have driven in Bahrain in the rain, so I experienced something new after all those years of racing here,” commented Hartley. “It was interesting, particularly to see where the standing water is. Aside from the weather, it has been a relatively clean day.
“We look quite strong at the moment, although we never know what our competitors are doing. We tried various set-ups and the different tyre compounds. Degradation is very high on this track, and this is going to be a big topic for the race.”
Kamui’s best lap of 1min 46.851secs, set in second practice, was the fastest of the day and signalled the #7 crew’s determination to take the title fight to the wire. Brendon set the best time for the #8 car, also in the dry evening session, to end up second fastest overall.
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 tyres.
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, so the team finally had an extended opportunity to evaluate the medium and hard Michelin dry tyre compounds available this weekend.
A programme of aerodynamic and mechanical set-up analysis, which began in first practice but was compromised by the wet track, also continued as drivers and engineers worked intensively to find the best compromise around a circuit which is known for high tyre degradation.
Those preparations were disrupted by a red flag after an hour following an incident for a GT car. The session resumed with 18 minutes remaining and both cars completed a productive evening, finishing with a combined total of 159 laps, covering 860km.
Preparations continue on Friday with a final practice at midday before qualifying, which takes place just as the sun is setting, at 5.05pm local time (3.05pm CET). Saturday’s race starts at 2pm local time (4pm CET).
8 Hours of Bahrain – Free Practice 1
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 49.856secs 35 laps
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.104secs 39 laps
3rd #99 Proton Competition (Jani/Bruni/Tincknell) +0.434secs 22 laps
4th #6 Porsche Penkse (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +0.472secs 24 laps
5th #5 Porsche Penske (Cameron/Christensen/Makowiecki)+0.547secs 24 laps
6th #38 Hertz Team Jota (Da Costa/Stevens/Ye) +0.651secs 35 laps
8 Hours of Bahrain – Free Practice 2
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 46.851secs 41 laps
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.461secs 44 laps
3rd #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn/Westbrook) +0.839secs 42 laps
4th #38 Hertz Team Jota (Da Costa/Stevens/Ye) +1.141secs 43 laps
5th #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +1.576secs 32 laps
6th #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Duval/Menezes/Müller) +1.850secs 43 laps
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