BMW M Team WRT and The Heart of Racing shared top honours in Thursday practice for the BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain, as the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season finale got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit. Aston Martin’s Valkyrie Hypercar led the way in the opening session before Sheldon van der Linde seized the initiative for BMW under the lights in FP2, while Ford and Lexus split the LMGT3 spoils.

Hypercar: Aston Martin leads daylight running, BMW strikes at night

In the baking afternoon heat of Sakhir, Marco Sørensen put The Heart of Racing’s #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar on top of the FP1 leaderboard with a 1m49.697s, reaffirming the Valkyrie’s late-season charge. The Anglo-American squad has steadily climbed into contention over the second half of the year — and Bahrain’s fast, flowing corners suited the car’s balance perfectly.

The #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye trailed by 1.4 seconds, keeping the title fight alive against the championship-leading #51 Ferrari trio of Calado, Pier Guidi and Giovinazzi. The sister #007 Aston Martin made it two Valkyries in the top three, while Peugeot’s #93 9X8 and the #51 Ferrari rounded out the top five.

Once night fell, the order flipped. Sheldon van der Linde delivered BMW’s first practice-topping performance since Spa, clocking 1m48.780s in the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 — almost a second quicker than Sørensen’s FP1 marker. Aston Martin stayed in the mix with Sørensen again second, while Jean-Éric Vergne, making his final outing for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, placed third in the #93 9X8.

Toyota’s #7 GR010 Hybrid and the #5 Porsche Penske 963 completed the top five as the field began to converge under cooler, grippier conditions.

Hypercar – Free Practice 1 Top 5

  1. #009 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar – 1m49.697s
  2. #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P – +1.455s
  3. #007 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar – +1.941s
  4. #93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 – +2.014s
  5. #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P – +2.044s

Hypercar – Free Practice 2 Top 5

  1. #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 – 1m48.780s
  2. #009 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar – +0.262s
  3. #93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 – +0.421s
  4. #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid – +0.562s
  5. #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 – +0.638s

 

LMGT3: Barker keeps Ford on top before Lexus and Iron Dames surge ahead

The LMGT3 field traded punches throughout the day, with Ford and Lexus emerging as the cars to beat.

In FP1, Ben Barker continued his excellent form by setting the pace in the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 on a 2m02.681s, narrowly edging the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus by just 0.056s. The sister #78 Lexus, the #46 Team WRT BMW, and #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW filled out the top five — all within six-tenths.

The evening brought a shake-up. Finn Gehrsitz, fresh from a breakout season in the WEC paddock, fired the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3 to the top in FP2 with a 2m02.613s, just faster than Barker’s earlier benchmark. Rahel Frey starred for the Iron Dames Porsche, claiming second and matching her best lap twice to the thousandth of a second — a statement run from the 2023 Bahrain winners.

The #33 TF Sport Corvette impressed in third ahead of The Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin, while Lorcan Hanafin kept Iron Lynx’s #60 Mercedes-AMG in the top five. The title fight remains tight: the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari rebounded from last in FP1 to eighth in FP2, as the championship-leading #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche struggled to twelfth.

LMGT3 – Free Practice 1 Top 5

  1. #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 – 2m02.681s
  2. #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 – +0.056s
  3. #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 – +0.384s
  4. #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 – +0.480s
  5. #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 – +0.628s

LMGT3 – Free Practice 2 Top 5

  1. #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 – 2m02.613s
  2. #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R – +0.408s
  3. #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R – +0.566s
  4. #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – +0.746s
  5. #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 – +1.232s

 

The stage is set

Friday’s final practice session begins at 12:00 local time (10:00 CET), followed by qualifying and Hyperpole later in the day. With five manufacturers inside one second in Hypercar and the LMGT3 title still wide open, Bahrain is shaping up for a tense and unpredictable WEC finale.

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