WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain – Chaos in the First Two Hours

On the occasion of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the 4th round of the World Endurance Championship under the sun, the start of the race was eventful with a collision as early as the second turn between the Rebellion #1, which started in the lead, and LMP1 #5 from Team LNT. The latter lost the rear and collided with the back of the leader, causing it to spin. The Toyota #7 took advantage and took the lead with six LMP2s behind it. This incident logically caused the safety car to be deployed, and the #5 then took the opportunity to pit. Upon resumption, the natural hierarchy was restored. The LMP1s regained the top positions in the overall standings.

The Rebellion pushed hard to climb back up to the leading trio, led by the two Toyotas and Team LNT #6. Conversely, problems continued for #5, which in its comeback clipped a Ferrari and was penalized with a drive-through penalty. A complicated race that worsens.

In the lead, Team LNT #6 battled for a long time with Toyota #8 to maintain its second place. Against a struggling car, the Japanese car managed to take the lead while #6 failed to stay on track. An off-track excursion without consequence. Worn tires and a driver change for the team with just over 6h30 of the race remaining. Making a strong comeback, Rebellion then climbed to third place behind the two Toyotas running like Swiss clocks.

In GTE Am, frenetic battle for 3rd place between #56, #90, #83, and #86, which are within 1.7s of each other. They are not letting go, and overtakes are frequent. However, the #56 from Team Project 1 will be stuck in the pits, as race control detected an abnormally high temperature in the cockpit. The car was brought into its garage, the driver on the ground.

Identical strategy for the Toyotas, hoping to secure a victory thanks to race events as they started 4th and 5th. Driver changes for both cars one lap apart after 1h35 of racing. The Rebellion comes between the two Japanese cars during this pit stop but will return to its position after also passing the relay.

In the race, numerous contacts in the GT category occurred without severity, requiring officials to intervene without compromising the race. Night has now fallen in Bahrain with 6 hours of racing remaining. Here are the various standings:

Ranking H-6:

LMP1

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING #7

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING #8

REBELLION RACING #1

LMP2

UNITED AUTOSPORT #22

G-DRIVE RACING #26

JACKIE CHAN DC RACING #27

GTE Pro

PORSCHE GT TEAM #92

ASTON MARTIN RACING #95

AF CORSE #51

GTE Am

ASTON MARTIN RACING #98

GULF RACING #86

TEAM PROJECT 1 #57