Bamber Tops Morning Session; Martins Fastest Rookie

Photo: MPS Agency

Earl Bamber posted the quickest time in the first of two sessions in the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain, while Victor Martins was the fastest Hypercar rookie in the two-hour session.

Bamber’s 1:49.566 lap time set in the No. 2 Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R edged out the No. 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor, in a car that features top-class rookies Valentino Rossi, Max Hesse and Dan Harper.

The No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Nicklas Nielsen was third quickest, followed by Martins, who was the leading Hypercar rookie of the session thanks to a 1:50.934 in the No. 36 Alpine A424 that was set late in the session.

AF Corse’s No. 51 Ferrari, featuring Thomas Neubauer, completed the top-five in the session in the hands of James Calado.

Hesse’s was the quickest out of BMW’s three rookies, steering the No. 15 BMW to a best lap of 1:52.503 and outpacing fellow former Junior Team member Harper, who set a 1:53.180.

Rossi, meanwhile, posted a 1:53.585 as he completed 24 laps at the wheel of the No. 20 BMW, slotting in behind Ferrari’s Arthur Leclerc by just 0.081 seconds but ahead of WEC-nominated Toyota rookie Reshad de Gerus by 0.054 seconds.

LMGT3 was led by the No, 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 of Marino Sato, thanks to a 2:02.587 by the Japanese driver.

The No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 was second quickest in the hands of Vasser Sullivan Lexus ace Ben Barnicoat, in a car that also features Aurelien Panis.

Alessio Rovera slotted into third aboard the No. 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, fresh off taking LMGT3 victory in Saturday’s 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Gillian Henrion, meanwhile, completed 21 laps in the championship-winning No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R and set a best time of 2:05.378.

The session saw a single yellow flag, for the No. 85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of YouTube influencer Edmond Barseghian, which stopped in Turn 11 before continuing back to the pit lane.

Notably, that car also features former Rebellion and Peugeot driver Gustavo Menezes, who put in five laps.

A second and final session runs from 1-4 p.m. local time.

RESULTS: Test Session 1

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John