Antonio Felix da Costa tops WEC Bahrain test for Alpine

Antonio Felix da Costa topped the timesheets in his first public appearance as a factory Alpine driver in the World Endurance Championship’s Bahrain rookie test.

The former Porsche star, who joins the French squad next year as part of a dual WEC/Formula E programme, set a best time of 1m49.214s in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh in the afternoon session.

He went 0.159s quicker than current Alpine racer Frederic Makowiecki, who completed several installation laps in the morning before handing over the car to the Portuguese driver.

New Peugeot signing Nick Cassidy completed 59 laps across the two 9X8s, ending the day with the third-quickest individual time - a 1m49.376s. He was the fastest ‘real’ rookie in the Bahrain test, with da Costa having already contested one season in Hypercar with Jota Porsche in 2023.

Marco Sorensen was a solid fourth in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH, just over four tenths off the outright pace.

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P

Photo by: AG Photo - Daniele Paglino

Lilou Wadoux impressed with fifth in the #51 Ferrari 499P, continuing her gradual integration into the Hypercar class following previous test outings with Toyota and Ferrari.

Newly-crowned world champion James Calado was next up in the same #51 Ferrari as Wadoux, while Charles Weerts delivered a strong Hypercar debut to finish seventh in the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8.

Antonio Fuoco was eighth-quickest in the #50 Ferrari, while the top 10 was rounded out by Cassidy - who also turned laps in the #93 Peugeot - and the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley.

With race drivers actively taking part in the test, several debutants finished lower down the order.

Mattia Drudi was 13th-quickest in the Aston Martin, with Kelvin van der Linde another three places behind on his step up to the BMW M Hybrid V8.

The #7 Toyota was shared by Super GT/Super Formula driver Sacha Fenestraz and Lexus IMSA ace Ben Barnicoat, with Fenestraz’s best time of 1m51.302s putting him two tenths clear of Barnicoat.

#87 Akkodis Asp Team Lexus RC F LMGT3

Photo by: AG Photo - Daniele Paglino

The LMGT3 class was led by Hadrien David in the #87 ASP Lexus RC F GT3, a day after the French squad took victory in the Bahrain 8 Hours.

However, ASP also caused a prolonged red flag earlier in the morning, with the #78 Lexus catching fire at the final corner while Tom van Rompuy was at the wheel.

Second place went to Thomas Fleming in the title-winning #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Jose Maria Lopez was classified third in the #87 Lexus he shared with David.

Nicola Lacorte was fourth in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, while former Williams Formula 1 driver Logan Sargeant ended up a solid fifth in the classification with a best time of 2m02.717s in the #77 Proton Ford Mustang GT3.

Matias Zagazeta caused the second red flag of the day, in the afternoon session, after he stopped on track in the #21 Ferrari.