Rebellion had the edge over Ginette and Toyota in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain to take pole position. In GTE Pro, Porsche was the fastest of the six cars.
Rebellion Racing were the team to beat in LMP1 as the grid was set for the inaugural 8 Hours of Bahrain. The Swiss squad were already in top form during free practice, and converted their advantage into their second pole position of the season with a fastest average lap time of 1:42.979.
The #5 Team LNT Ginette was just two tenths of a second slower than the Rebellion on average lap time, but secured a solid front-row spot for the second race in succession. The pair of works Toyotas were close behind on row two in third and fourth.
It was a similarly tight affair in LMP2, where United Autosports wrapped up the pole position with a fastest average of 1:45.357 but just 0.292 seconds ahead of the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing machine. Third-fastest were the guest-starters G-Drive Racing.
Porsche on top in both GTE classes
Porsche had plenty to celebrate in GTE: In GTE Pro, the #91 and #92 911 RSRs locked out the front row by an impressive 0.6 seconds ahead of the #51 and #71 Ferraris. Aston Martin was a little lacking in terms of one-lap pace, only managing to qualify in fifth and sixth.
GTE Am was another story of Porsche domination, with the #57 Project 1 machine securing pole and the #88 Dempsey-Proton car taking the second grid spot. Third were to the #83 AF Corse crew. Championship leaders TF Sport start Saturday’s race from seventh on the grid.