Ferrari Edges Toyota to Lead Final Bahrain Practice

Ferrari narrowly beat Toyota to lead the final practice session for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain, as Antonio Fuoco put the No. 50 car to the head of the timesheets.

The Italian driver posted a best effort of 1:49.725 in the early stages of the session, which was extended by nine minutes to 69 minutes following a red flag, to beat the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Kamui Kobayashi by a scant 0.012 seconds.

An accident for the Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R of Celia Martin at Turn 3 led to a ten-minute interruption roughly eight minutes into the session, with a full course yellow being called in response to debris later on.

Behind the leading two cars, the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari was third-quickest, with Robert Kubica falling 0.339 seconds short of Fuoco’s benchmark.

Marco Sorensen put the No. 009 Aston Martin Valkyrie fourth-fastest ahead of the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry in which Will Stevens set the best time.

The championship-leading No. 51 Ferrari was seventh in the hands of Antonio Giovinazzi, who set his best time shortly after the red flag interruption to slot in behind the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 of Malthe Jakobsen.

Best of the Porsche 963s was the No. 99 Proton Competition example in eighth in the hands of Nico Varrone, with the two factory Penske cars only 14th and 15th.

Enduring an even more low-key session was Alpine, whose pair of A424s propped up the order in 17th and 18th places.

In LMGT3, Martin Berry set the best lap of 2:03.158 aboard the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, one of two laps the Australian Bronze-rated driver set that was good enough for the top spot in class.

Next up were the two Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3s, with Arnold Robin’s No. 78 car leading the No. 87 of Razvan Umbrarescu, while the title-contending No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 was fourth-fastest with Simon Mann driving.

The Iron Dames Porsche returned to the track later in the session after Martin’s early accident, ending up with the 11th-fastest time.

Two cars, the No. 93 Peugeot and the No. 46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, were handed five-minute stop-and-hold penalties for red flag procedure violations.

Qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain is due to take place at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET).

RESULTS: Free Practice 3