Peugeot TotalEnergies followed up its head-turning Free Practice 1 performance yesterday with another session-topping time in FP3 at the Bahrain International Circuit this afternoon.
The #93 9X8 ended up on top ahead of the final WEC Qualifying the season with a 1:49.443, set in hot, sunny conditions by Jean-Eric Vergne. The sister car also lapped quickly, with Paul Di Resta putting the #94 fourth with a 1:50.028.
It will be fascinating to see whether or not Peugeot’s work during practice, which featured 90 minutes of running on used tyres in Free Practice 2 last night, translates into a strong performance in tomorrow’s race.
“It’s obviously just practice, we were quick in FP1 too, it’s all about when you use new tyres as tyre deg is brutal. It’s all set up work for the race, that’s what we’re focused on,” Peugeot driver Mikkel Jensen said.
Second in the times was taken by the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, after Yifei Ye’s 1:49.662. Third – sitting between the #83 and #94 – was the #63 Lamborghini SC63, with a hot lap of 1:50.014.
The two Alpines meanwhile, would end up fifth and sixth, 1.1 and 1.7 off Vergne’s time respectively.
Further down the order, Ferrari’s title-contending #50 499P hit trouble and completed just seven laps during the hour.
The car spent much of the session in the garage receiving attention from mechanics after the team discovered an electrical issue related to a cable in the front motor. Its best time was a 1:51.162, still good enough for seventh in class.
In LMGT3, after AKKODIS ASP topped the times in both sessions yesterday, it was the championship-winning Manthey Pure Rxcing Porsche that finished the session with the best lap as the Bronze drivers prepared for Qualifying.
Alex Malykhin was the only driver to complete a sub-2:04 time in the #92, with a 2:03.897 that will surely serve as a confidence boost.
Arnold Robin was only marginally slower though in the #78 ASP Lexus, which continues to show real promise during the early stages of the event. The Frenchman reeled off a 2:04.041 to go second.
The #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari ended up third, with the Heart of Racing Aston Martin fourth and the #82 TF Sport Corvette fifth.
Qualifying is next, at 16:00 local time this afternoon.
Image courtesy of Peugeot
