Weckström Surges To Second in Dramatic Final Practice

Alec Weckström produced a stunning late surge to snatch second place in final practice, the Victory Team driver finding nearly three seconds of improvement to post a 45.848-second lap and transform his qualifying prospects.

Rusty Wyatt maintained his position at the top of the timesheets with a 45.753-second lap, but the session belonged to Weckström, who had languished in 14th and 16th during the opening two sessions with just two laps completed in second practice.

The Finn completed 19 laps to finish just 0.095 seconds behind Wyatt, offering Victory Team crucial encouragement after a difficult practice day. Championship leader Jonas Andersson, Ben Jelf and Sami Seliö elected not to run, choosing to preserve equipment ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.

Strømøy Finds Form

Marit Strømøy emerged as another late improver, vaulting from 11th to eighth with a 46.342-second lap after completing 21 laps. The Norwegian’s dramatic improvement mirrored Weckström’s breakthrough, finding over a second from her earlier efforts.

Shaun Torrente held third ahead of Stefan Arand, with the Sharjah Team duo completing a strong practice programme. Bartek Marszalek maintained fourth position for Strømøy Racing, whilst Peter Morin claimed sixth for China CTIC Team.

Erik Stark rounded out the top seven for Team Abu Dhabi, ahead of Strømøy and Grant Trask. Kyle Maskall completed the top ten for China CTIC Team.

Comparato Shows Improvement

Alberto Comparato found significant pace to claim 11th with a 47.429-second lap after completing 29 laps, ahead of Ferdinand Zandbergen and Mansoor Al Mansoori. Alexandre Bourgeot, Duarte Benavente and Cédric Deguisne completed the order.

Qualifying begins at 09:00 local time on Saturday morning (01:00 GMT), followed by the two sprint races in the afternoon.

Free Practice 3 Results

POS	#	DRIVER	LAPS	BEST LAP	GAP
1	17	Rusty Wyatt	12	45.753	—
2	3	Alec Weckström	19	45.848	+0.095
3	4	Shaun Torrente	20	46.004	+0.250
4	18	Stefan Arand	22	46.050	+0.296
5	77	Bartek Marszalek	24	46.177	+0.424
6	7	Peter Morin	18	46.208	+0.454
7	6	Erik Stark	20	46.282	+0.528
8	50	Marit Strømøy	21	46.342	+0.589
9	2	Grant Trask	19	46.520	+0.767
10	22	Kyle Maskall	17	47.175	+1.421
11	97	Alberto Comparato	29	47.429	+1.675
12	12	Ferdinand Zandbergen	24	47.588	+1.834
13	5	Mansoor Al Mansoori	27	48.313	+2.559
14	74	Alexandre Bourgeot	24	48.368	+2.614
15	10	Duarte Benavente	4	49.372	+3.618
16	73	Cédric Deguisne	7	51.623	+5.869
17	1	Jonas Andersson	0	—	DNS
18	9	Ben Jelf	0	—	DNS
19	11	Sami Seliö	0	—	DNS

Combined Practice Times – Top 10

POS	#	DRIVER	BEST LAP	SESSION
1	17	Rusty Wyatt	45.366	FP2
2	1	Jonas Andersson	45.527	FP1
3	4	Shaun Torrente	45.585	FP2
4	18	Stefan Arand	45.590	FP2
5	6	Erik Stark	45.636	FP2
6	3	Alec Weckström	45.848	FP3
7	77	Bartek Marszalek	46.177	FP3
8	7	Peter Morin	46.208	FP3
9	50	Marit Strømøy	46.342	FP3
10	2	Grant Trask	46.425	FP1