WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain: Toyota Double, Aston Martin Wins in GT-Pro

The tight gaps during the qualifying rounds gave hope for an exciting race in LMP1. It was not to be. Already shaken during a tumultuous first lap, the suspense was buried in the third hour, in favor of Toyota. The Japanese team calmly secured a one-two finish during the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the fourth round of the World Endurance Championship. Story.

The start of the race was tumultuous, with a collision occurring as early as the second corner between the leading Rebellion #1 and the Team LNT Ginetta #5. The latter lost grip at the rear and collided with the leader, causing a spin. The Toyota #7 took advantage to move into the lead, followed by six LMP2s. This incident led to the deployment of the safety car, allowing #5 to head to the pits, losing a lap in the process. Once the race resumed, the natural hierarchy gradually re-established itself, with the LMP1 cars reclaiming the top positions in the overall standings.

The Rebellion pushed hard to catch up with the leading trio, led by the two Toyotas and the Ginetta #6. On the other hand, the problems persisted for the #5, which collided with a Ferrari and was penalized with a drive-through penalty. A complicated race. Soon enough, the two Toyotas were ahead of the Rebellion, with already significant gaps.

The situation stabilized until the race’s turning point after three hours. As night fell over the Sahkir circuit, the Rebellion was brought back to its garage due to a gearbox problem. Stuck for five minutes, it dropped to eleventh place, three laps down, before Gustavo Menezes spun out. The outcome was sealed. Toyota perfectly managed the rest of the race to win easily ahead of Rebellion. The last semblance of suspense vanished when the #8 Toyota, in second, had to enter the pit to change the rear of the car. The operation cost it a lap.

The #7 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José Maria Lopez, victorious, uses this success to take the lead in the championship (97 points) ahead of the #8 of Kazuki Nakajima, Brendon Hartley, and Sébastien Buemi (89 points) and the Rebellion of Gustavo Menezes, Bruno Senna, and Norman Nato (67 points).

Regarding Ginetta, Bahrain was their first race of 8 hours or more. A real test of reliability, which proved catastrophic. None reached the finish. The #5 suffered a battery problem after mid-race, which forced it to retire. Uncertainties arose for the second car entered regarding the durability of these batteries. It came to a definitive stop an hour and a half before the finish.

A race quite quickly wrapped up in LMP1 then. But when the premier category is lacking, often since the end of 2017, who do we turn to in order to save the show? The GTE-Pro, of course.

GTE-Pro: Aston Martin victorious by knockout

As often since 2017 and Porsche’s withdrawal, the focus was almost exclusively on the GTE-Pro category. As usual, the replays were almost solely about the GTE-Pro, and for good reason. The category was wild, marked by bumper-to-bumper action on the track and behind the scenes. A plot full of twists and turns.

Very quickly, a major battle emerged between the Porsche #91, Ferrari #71, and Aston Martin #97 for second place. These three cars drove for over an hour within the same second. Position changes between these drivers were frequent. The Aston Martin #97 then decided to attempt the undercut. The war was on.

The K.O first occurred for the Porsche #91. Ten minutes before mid-race, an accident in GTE Am led to a full-course yellow due to numerous debris on the track. The Porsche entered the pits… and suffered a puncture. Back to the garage for the GT for a repair to the front-right wheel, which cost 3 minutes.

Then came a mess. The Ferrari #71 of the AF Corse team, in second place, was penalized with a drive-through for speeding under a yellow flag. In this battle with the Porsche #91 and the Aston Martin #95, only the latter had not encountered a major incident.

Nevertheless, the Italian team contested this penalty and won after a 30-minute wait while their car battled with the Aston Martin for the first place in the category. The overtaking took place in the pits by putting less fuel in the #71 than in the #95.

Over the course of the race, the three-manufacturer battle was reduced to two, with the two Porsches out of contention. Two hours from the finish, it even boiled down to a duel. The Ferrari #71 with the Aston Martin #95.

Shortly before the 6-hour mark, the Aston Martin closed in on the Ferrari #71, which had been conserving fuel throughout the relay. The driver change took place with just over 2 hours of racing remaining, and the #95 moved ahead of the #71. Their two teammates were battling for 3rd place, enough to keep everyone on the edge of their seats until the end.

At the start of the final hour, a crucial last stop. The Aston Martin in the lead and the Ferrari behind came out wheel-to-wheel. At the wheel, Marco Sorensen against Miguel Molina. The suspense was at its peak. Until the twist. With 32 minutes to go, the Ferrari was given a stop & go penalty for spinning its tires in the pit, it rejoined in second place twenty seconds behind. End of the match, victory by K.O for the Aston Martin #95 of Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim.

The crew takes the lead (85 points) in a completely revitalized championship, as the two previously dominant Porsches finished in the last positions. The #92 moves to second place in the championship with 71 points.

LMP2: United Autosport first

A tense status quo. Starting in the lead, the United Autosport team of Phil Hanson, Felipe Albuquerque, and Paul Di Resta dominated the race until the end. Never entirely safe, but never really threatened either. The battles primarily took place for the third step of the podium. Right up until the final minutes, as Jean-Eric Vergne in his G-Drive seemed to be rocketing back towards Will Stevens’ Jackie Chan DC Racing. But the Englishman simply managed his fuel and kept the Frenchman at bay.

In the championship, the suspense remains since four different crews have won the four races. Ten points separate the first, Jackie Chan DC Racing, from the fourth, Jota.

GTE-Am: Project 1 finds success again

Like the LMP2, the Porsche Project 1 #57 driven by Ben Keating, Laurens Ten Voorde, and Bleekemolen surged ahead from the start. The battle was intense for a while for the third place between Project 1 #56, TF Sport’s Aston Martin #90, AF Corse’s Ferrari #83, and Gulf Racing’s Porsche #86, which were within less than two seconds after an hour of race. They remained close, and overtaking was frequent.

However, Team Project 1’s #56 will be stuck in the pits, as race control detected higher than normal heat in the cockpit. The car was brought back to its garage, the driver on the ground.

In the lead, the Team Project #1 car had to battle mid-race with Gulf Racing’s #86 and Aston Martin Racing’s #98, before pulling away two hours from the finish. The German team takes the lead in the championship, tied with AF Corse #83 of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicklas Nielsen.