Antonio Felix da Costa Shines in First Public Test as Alpine Driver
Antonio Felix da Costa made a strong impression during his first public appearance as a factory Alpine driver in the World Endurance Championship (WEC)’s Bahrain rookie test. The former Porsche star, who will join 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 during the afternoon session.
Da Costa outperformed current Alpine racer Frederic Makowiecki by 0.159s, who had completed several installation laps in the morning before handing over the car to the Portuguese driver. This performance highlighted da Costa’s readiness for the challenges ahead in the Hypercar class.
New Peugeot signing Nick Cassidy also made an impact, completing 59 laps across the two 9X8s and ending the day with the third-quickest individual time of 1m49.376s. Cassidy was the fastest ‘real’ rookie in the Bahrain test, as da Costa had already contested one season in Hypercar with Jota Porsche in 2023.
Marco Sorensen finished fourth in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH, just over four tenths off the outright pace. His performance demonstrated the competitiveness of the Aston Martin entry in the test.
Lilou Wadoux impressed with a fifth-place finish in the #51 Ferrari 499P, continuing her gradual integration into the Hypercar class after previous test outings with Toyota and Ferrari. Newly-crowned world champion James Calado followed closely behind 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—also turning laps in the #93 Peugeot—and the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley.
With race drivers actively participating 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. Fenestraz’s best time of 1m51.302s put him two tenths clear of Barnicoat, showcasing his adaptability to the WEC environment.
In the LMGT3 class, Hadrien David led the #87 ASP Lexus RC F GT3. This came a day after the French squad secured victory in the Bahrain 8 Hours. However, ASP caused a prolonged red flag earlier in the morning when the #78 Lexus caught 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, 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 stopping on track in the #21 Ferrari.
Other News from the WEC
Corvette driver Juncadella faced fines for showing a middle finger during the WEC Bahrain 8 Hours. Meanwhile, Toyota announced an unchanged six-driver line-up for the WEC 2026 season, signaling their commitment to maintaining their competitive edge in the upcoming campaign.
