TOYOTA GAZOO Racing made a productive start to its challenge in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) title-decider on an intense day of practice for the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
Two titles are on the line this weekend in Bahrain, where TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is aiming for an eighth consecutive victory in the Gulf Kingdom. Another win on Saturday will secure the manufacturers’ crown, while Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries have an outside chance of the drivers’ championship.
The team’s focus on the opening day was to prepare its GR010 HYBRIDs for the challenge ahead, against a competitive field of 18 Hypercars. Drivers, engineers and mechanics worked as one to maximise time on track for the continuous improvement of car performance, using their experience, know-how and team spirit.
Those efforts were rewarded with positive progress throughout a busy day, which ended with the #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries setting the fourth fastest lap. Outgoing World Champions Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were sixth in their #8 GR010 HYBRID.
“It has been a pretty smooth day, without any dramas,” commented Hartley. “We worked on a few set-up items but we are not fully happy with the balance so there are some improvements to make. It’s tight at the front and we haven’t been quite up there yet with our car, but we have the potential to improve, and we are working hard to do that for tomorrow.”
The 5.412km Bahrain International Circuit is particularly challenging for car set-up and tyre management, with its mix of high-speed and slower corners, and its abrasive track surface. The team therefore used most of Thursday’s three hours of practice to adjust car settings in preparation for Saturday’s race.
Under midday sun and 31°C air temperatures, Mike and Sébastien immediately got to work on an intensive programme of mechanical and powertrain adjustments in first practice. The two GR010 HYBRIDs completed more laps than any other cars during a clean session, with their fastest laps set at the beginning. Sébastien earned seventh for the #8, and Mike was 10th in the #7.
Second practice began after sunset and in slightly cooler temperatures, like those expected in the second part of Saturday’s day-night race. After focusing on race set-up earlier, Nyck and Brendon used the first moments to try out qualifying settings, recording their respective fastest times of the session – and the day – in the process. The team’s efforts soon shifted back to race preparation with more set-up fine-tuning and tyre analysis.
Drivers and engineers will now analyse the data and work to optimise performance of the GR010 HYBRIDs prior to Friday’s final, one-hour practice. The starting grid will be decided during the qualifying and Hyperpole sessions, starting at 4.40pm local time (2.40pm CET), while the race begins at 2pm (midday CET) on Saturday.
8 Hours of Bahrain – Free Practice 1
1st #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Duval/Vandoorne), 1min 50.837secs 36 laps
2nd #5 Porsche Penske (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki), +0.049secs, 34 laps
3rd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi), +0.204secs, 36 laps
4th #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Jensen/Müller/Vergne), +0.215secs, 33 laps
5th #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor), +0.279secs, 34 laps
6th #63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx (Bortolotti/Mortara/Kvyat), +0.359secs, 38 laps
7th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.403secs, 42 laps
10th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.965secs, 44 laps
8 Hours of Bahrain – Free Practice 2
1st #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann), 1min 48.257secs, 42 laps
2nd #5 Porsche Penske (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki), +0.054secs, 39 laps
3rd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi), +0.215secs, 42 laps
4th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.390secs, 42 laps
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen), +0.444secs, 40 laps
6th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.479secs, 43 laps
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