Bahrain WEC: Buemi pips Conway for top spot in opening practice
The #8 Toyota topped the times in first practice for this weekend's World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain, despite carrying a half-second performance handicap

Sebastien Buemi posted a 1m43.457s immediately after a red flag right at the start of the 90-minute session.
His lap eclipsed the 1m43.949s set by Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID shortly before FP1 was briefly stopped.
The 0.54s penalty carried by the #8 car reflects the slender championship lead for Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley going into Saturday's eight-hour race.
The LMP2 order was topped by Giedo van der Garde in the Racing Team Nederland ORECA-Gibson 07.
His time of 1m47.955s put him nearly two tenths up on the Signatech Alpine ORECA in which Andre Negrao recorded a 1m48.126s.
Third fastest was the Jota Sport ORECA on 1m48.303s.
The time from Antonio Felix da Costa set at the of the session improved on team-mate Anthony Davidson's earlier best for the car by two hundredths.
The United Autosports squad that sealed the class championship with victory at Le Mans was fourth fastest with Paul di Resta.

Aston Martin went to the top of the timesheets in GTE Pro in the closing minutes of the session.
Maxime Martin recorded a 1m56.560s in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE he is sharing with Ricard Westbrook after Alex Lynn was ruled out of the Bahrain event following a positive COVID-19 test.
Porsche's Ricard Lietz, who set a 1m57.177s at the start of the 90 minutes, was pushed down to second by Martin's improvement.
The second of the factory Porsche 911 RSRs took third in the times with a 1m57.218s from Michael Christensen.
Nicki Thiiim ended fourth in the second of the Aston Martins on 1m57.508s.
The best of the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evos was more than two seconds off the pace on a 1m58.571s from James Calado.
The GTE Am class was led by Ross Gunn in the factory-run #98 Vantage.
His 1m57.666s set at the beginning of the session was almost equaled by Ben Barker's 1m57.688s in the Gulf Racing UK Porsche late in the session.
Free practice resumes with the second of the three sessions at 9:00am local time on Friday, with qualifying beginning at 6:00pm.
Results
Pos | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LMP1 | S.Buemi, K.Nakajima, B.Hartley | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota | 1m43.457s |
2 | LMP1 | M.Conway, K.Kobayashi, J.M.Lopez | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota | 0.492s |
3 | LMP2 | F.van Eerd, G.van der Garde, N.de Vries | Racing Team Nederland | ORECA/Gibson | 4.498s |
4 | LMP2 | T.Laurent, A.Negrao, P.Ragues | Signatech Alpine Elf | Alpine/Gibson | 4.669s |
5 | LMP2 | R.Gonzalez, A.F.da Costa, A.Davidson | JOTA | ORECA/Gibson | 4.846s |
6 | LMP2 | P.Hanson, F.Albuquerque, P.Di Resta | United Autosports | ORECA/Gibson | 5.014s |
7 | LMP2 | H-Pin Tung, G.Aubry, W.Stevens | Jackie Chan DC Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 5.319s |
8 | LMP2 | R.Lacorte, A.Belicchi, G.Sernagiotto | Cetilar Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 10.360s |
9 | GTE Pro | R.Westbrook, M.Martin | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 13.103s |
10 | GTE Pro | G.Bruni, R.Lietz | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 13.720s |
11 | GTE Pro | M.Christensen, K.Estre | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 13.761s |
12 | GTE Pro | M.Sorensen, N.Thiim | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 14.051s |
13 | GTE Am | P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, R.Gunn | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 14.209s |
14 | GTE Am | M.Wainwright, A.Picariello, B.Barker | Gulf Racing | Porsche | 14.231s |
15 | GTE Am | B.Keating, D.Pereira, J.Bleekemolen | Team Project 1 | Porsche | 14.570s |
16 | GTE Pro | J.Calado, D.Serra | AF Corse | Dallara/Gibson | 15.114s |
17 | GTE Am | E.Perfetti, L.ten Voorde, J.Bergmeister | Team Project 1 | Porsche | 15.200s |
18 | GTE Am | S.Yoluc, C.Eastwood, J.Adam | TF Sport | Aston Martin | 15.344s |
19 | GTE Pro | D.Rigon, M.Molina | AF Corse | Ferrari | 15.375s |
20 | GTE Am | C.Ried, R.Pera, D.Olsen | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Porsche | 15.588s |
21 | GTE Am | F.Perrodo, E.Collard, N.Nielsen | AF Corse | Ferrari | 15.643s |
22 | GTE Am | T.Flohr, F.Castellacci, G.Fisichella | AF Corse | Ferrari | 16.158s |
23 | GTE Am | B.Grimes, K.Cozzolino, C.Noble | Red River Sport | Ferrari | 16.271s |
24 | GTE Am | K.Al Qubaisi, J.Evans, M.Holzer | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Porsche | 16.605s |

Previous article
Toyota promises "fair fight" without LMP1 opposition in Bahrain
Next article
Bahrain WEC: Lopez tops second practice as Ferrari pace GTE Pro order

About this article
Series | WEC |
Drivers | Sébastien Buemi , Mike Conway |
Author | Gary Watkins |
Bahrain WEC: Buemi pips Conway for top spot in opening practice
Trending
How 'Brilliant' Bob Wollek lived up to his nickname
Sportscar racing lost one of it's greatest talents 20 years ago today when Bob Wollek was knocked from his bicycle prior to the Sebring 12 Hours. The enigmatic Frenchman never won the Le Mans 24 Hours, but many still remember today why 'Brilliant Bob' became a legend
Top 10 moments of an underrated British great
Brian Redman was one of the best sportscar drivers of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a three-time champion on the fearsome American Formula 5000 scene. To celebrate his 84th birthday Autosport contacted him about his best races – and he decided to write the piece himself…
How an endurance racing boom could help one of LMP2's top teams
The G-Drive squad has been a mainstay of endurance racing in recent years, and has linked up with Russian manufacturer Aurus in recent years to promote its brand. With a change of rules in endurance racing's top tables, the team could be well-placed to take advantage of a potential boom...
How Ferrari’s Hypercar project could bolster Leclerc’s legacy
OPINION: Ferrari's planned return to the top category at the Le Mans 24 Hours has further heightened anticipation for the 2023 race. Few concrete details are currently known, but already it has a high-profile superstar angling for involvement, which would make a refreshing change
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The Porsche icon that forged sportscar racing's greatest era
Porsche is returning to the top class of Le Mans with an LMDh prototype that it hopes will write its next successful chapter in sportscar racing. But it will have to go some to emulate its 956/962, a car which defines the Group C age more than any other
How Kristensen forged the Mr Le Mans legend
He is synonymous with success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but Tom Kristensen's sportscar legacy amounts to much more than his record-breaking nine Le Mans wins, as the most successful driver ever at Sebring and a world champion to boot