The Shanghai winning #1 Rebellion topped FP2 times under the floodlights in Bahrain on Thursday evening, Bruno Senna with a 1:42.471.
That time comprehensively outpaced the remaining LMP1 field until Charlie Robertson vaulted the #5 Team LNT Ginetta ahead of the Toyotas in the final 20 minutes of the session, his 1:43.882 still almost 1.5 seconds back but quicker than Ben Hanleys session-topping mark in FP1.
The best of the Toyotas, the #7 of Mike Conway was almost a further half-second further back.
Topping LMP2 was an early session effort from Will Stevens in the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 Gibson, a 1:46.147 just over half a second clear from the best effort of the session from Jean-Eric Vergne in the #26 G-Drive Aurus 01 Gibson with Kenta Yamashita again flying high, third quickest in the High Class Racing ORECA. GTE Pro saw a complete turnaround from FP1, the Aston Martin Racing cars setting the top two times after languishing amongst the GTE Ams in FP1.
Alex Lynn set a storming 1:55.696 early in the session in the #97 Vantage GTE, the only man under 1:56 so far, it would not be beaten by the end of the 90-minute session and he’d remain half a second clear of the second-fastest car. That was the second, #95, AMR vantage, Marco Sorensen with another early session effort.
Best of the rest was Championship leader Kevin Estre in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR a couple of tenths further back.
There was better news for Porsche in GTE-Am, Matteo Cairoli putting the #56 Project One Porsche fourth fastest in the overall GTE order, and ahead of the #91 factory car with a 1:56.510.
Second fastest in class, seven-tenths back from Cairoli was Thomas Preining in the #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche with Jonny Adam a tenth or so further back in the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin.
