Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

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- In session No. 2 of Formula Preseason testing Wednesday, McLaren's Lando Norris was fastest with a lap at 133.880 mph at the Bahrain International Circuit. His lap was .157 seconds faster than Mercedes' George Russell. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third fastest, followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Williams' Carlos Sainz Jr. was fifth.

As noted in yesterday's newsletter, Session No. 2 was red-flagged for over an hour due to a power outage. In addition, once the session resumed, it rained a little on the desert circuit.

- In qualifying for the FIA World Endurance Championship Qatar 1812km, Ferrari AF Corse's Antonio Giovinazzi won the pole for Friday's season opener with a lap at 123.234 mph. 

Giovinazzi's lap was .136 seconds faster than BMW M Team WRT's Dries Vanthoor. Giovinazzi's teammate Antonio Fuoco was third, then the Cadillacs of Alex Lynn and Sebastien Bourdais

The session was a complete disaster for Toyota GAZOO Racing's Brendon Hartley as he spun on a quick lap. A second lap resulted in an off-course excursion. As a result, Hartley was unable to set a competitive time and will start 18th.

Neither of the Porsches managed to qualify for the Hyperpole session either. Julien Andlauer qualified the No. 5 in 11th, while.Kevin Estre was 13th in the No. 6.

In the LMGT3 ranks, United Autosports swept the front row. Sean Galael won the pole with a lap at 106.104 mph in his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. His lap was seconds faster than teammate Sebastien Baud. Akkodis ASP Team's Finn Gehrsitz qualified third in his Lexus, then Vista AF Corse's Francesco Castellacci. Simon Mann was fifth in the second Vista AF Corse Ferrari.

Team WRT's Valentino Rossi was the driver that was closest on pace to the two McLarens. However, his first two laps at speed were disallowed due to track limit violations. As a result, he had to rely on a fall back lap that put him seventh in class.

- The FIA announced a rule change for this year's Grand Prix of Monaco Wednesday. In order to create a better race for fans in attendance and those watching on TV, teams will be mandated to make a minimum of two pit stops in the 78-lap race. The rule will apply regardless of weather conditions. If the race is dry, the two compound rule will also still apply.

- In FIA World Endurance Championship Free Practice No. 3 Thursday morning, Ferrari AF Corse's Antonio Fuoco was fastest overall with a lap at 121.841 mph in his Ferrari 499P. Fuoco's lap was .081 seconds faster than teammate Antonio Giovinazzi. Robert Kubica in the customer Ferrari was third, then Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA's Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Lynn.

In LMGT3, United Autosports' Sean Gelael was fastest in his McLaren with a lap at 105.798 mph. The lap was .092 seconds faster than Akkodis ASP Team's Finn Gehrsitz in his Lexus. Sebastien Baud in the second McLaren was third, then TF Sport's Charlie Eastwood was fourth in his Corvette. Clements Schmid in the second Lexus was fifth.

There were no red flags during the session. However, there was a full course yellow when Ben Keating spun the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R into the gravel. 

"I was getting roughed around. I felt sore at that point, but when I hit the [inside] wall, it was instant pain like somebody put a knife down my back. Then the whole car, all four tires, went in the air, off the wall, swung back down, and that’s when the car stopped. I was in so much pain and out of breath. I got the wind knocked out of me and couldn’t see anything.

"I was trying to let the team know I was OK, but I couldn’t say anything. But I didn’t realize, it must’ve been from the side impact, the wire on my helmet broke. They were trying to get ahold of me, and I was trying to get ahold of them, and we didn’t realize they couldn’t hear me." - Craig Bracken, on the final big hit in his crash at Daytona and how he felt afterwards.