Sheldon van der Linde put the spotlight on BMW M Team WRT by setting the fastest overall time in WEC Bahrain FP2 ahead of Aston Martin.
Thursday night’s Free Practice 2 (FP2) session for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Bahrain 8 Hours unfolded under the floodlights at the Bahrain International Circuit, delivering a thrilling spectacle that highlighted the intensity and precision of endurance racing at its best.
The session, lasting 90 minutes, took place as darkness set in, shifting the dynamic on track and demanding the utmost concentration from drivers as well as optimal performance from their cars in both the Hypercar and LMGT3 categories.
Sheldon van der Linde drove the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 to a lap time of 1:48.780 to top the session, marking BMW’s second instance of leading a practice session in the current WEC season, a significant boost to the team’s morale ahead of the 2025 WEC Bahrain season finale.
Van der Linde’s performance was remarkable for its early decisiveness, securing the session’s fastest lap in the initial stages and holding onto that lead throughout the entire duration of FP2, which saw the Hypercar field fiercely competitive as rivals constantly pushed for improvements.
Early on, Aston Martin’s No. 009 Valkyrie Hypercar driven by Marco Sorensen set competitive lap times in FP1, including one from the morning session that the top nine crews surpassed in this FP2.
However, van der Linde’s BMW proved to be almost a second quicker, showcasing the car’s strong pace under lights. The Aston Martin entries remained closely tied in the top positions, with Sorensen finishing a close second, just 0.262 seconds off the leader.
Jean-Éric Vergne, making his final appearance for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies in the No. 93 9X8 prototype, demonstrated strong form by placing third in the competitive Hypercar field.
Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi was fourth on a 1:49.342 in the best of the GR010 Hybrids, while Julien Andlauer was fifth in the No. 5 Penske Porsche 963, just a tenth adrift of the Toyota.
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Ferrari made it six different manufacturers in the top six places courtesy of Antonio Giovinazzi, who posted a 1:49.465 in the No. 51 499P.
The second of the Toyotas was seventh, thanks to Brendon Hartley’s 1:49.473, and the top Cadillac was in eighth – the No 12 V-Series.R of Alex Lynn.
The rest of the top ten was completed by Tom Gamble in the second of the Astons and the lead Alpine A424 of Charles Milesi.
As for dramas, the No. 99 Proton Porsche was the only car in the top class that failed to make it out for a lap due to an “issue with the loom that took a long time to diagnose.”
Meanwhile, the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 ended the night under investigation for a collision at Turn 12 with the No. 92 Porsche involving Raffaele Marciello and Ryan Hardwick.
In LMGT3, the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 topped 2025 WEC Bahrain FP2 thanks to a 2:02.613 set by Finn Gehrsitz just over half an hour into the session, despite trouble for the sister No. 87 car.
Clemens Schmid stopped on track in the opening minutes of the session with a gearbox problem and did not set a representative lap time.
Second in class went to the Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R of Rahel Frey with a time four tenths adrift of Gehrsitz, while third fastest was the best of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.Rs with Dani Juncadella setting a 2:03.179.
Next up were the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Mattia Drudi – the only other driver within a second of Gerhitz’s pace – and the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Lorcan Hanafin.
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