Bahrain 4 Hours: Toyota No. 7 extends lead while Porsche controls LMGTE Pro
No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar extends its lead under Jose-Maria Lopez at the BAPCO 6 Hours of Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry sees Sebastien Buemi in for second stint as he attempts to hunt down title points leaders.
No.92 Porsche continues to enjoy small advantage in LMGTE Pro race with sister No.91 car in second.
LMP2 fight is between Team WRT and United Autosports as Charles Milesi holds off charging Fabio Scherer. No.33 TF Sport Aston Martin to the fore in LMGTE Am.
Hypercar – Leader: Jose-Maria Lopez, Toyota Gazoo Racing
- Toyota Gazoo Racing continue to run 1-2 after four hours of racing as Jose-Maria Lopez controls gap to No.8 GR010-HYBRID Hypercar with Sebastien Buemi again in the cockpit
- Lopez survives braking episode at turn one in fourth hour but otherwise enjoys flawless two stints to hold 16-second lead
- No.8 again slightly delayed at pitstop after a pushback during second full course yellow period triggered by Dragonspeed LMP2 car losing a wheel
- Tyre degradation high as temperatures peak at 34.4 degrees Celsius ensuring drivers have to manage tyres over double stints
- Alpine ELF Matmut continue to run in third position after electing to go off strategy after full course yellow period. Matthieu Vaxiviere sits just under a lap behind Toyotas
Bahrain snaps from the first 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ laps #GoHyper #ToyotaGAZOORacing #6HBahrain pic.twitter.com/2Ta2F4ylAz
— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@TGR_WEC) October 30, 2021
LMGTE Pro - Leader: Neel Jani, Porsche GT Team
- Neel Jani puts in epic double stint as No.92 Porsche GT Team continues to dominate as Porsche run in formation at front of LMGTE Pro category
- Richard Lietz takes wheel of No.91 Porsche and is just 1.2-seconds behind sister car which is in-line to reduce points deficit to No.51 AF Corse Ferrari crew
- James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi have an 11-point lead but don’t have the pace to trouble Porsche this weekend.
- Miguel Molina and Daniel Serra place fourth in No.52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo but drop back further from No.51 car and gap rises to 12-seconds
🤯 @jpmontoya literally lost a tyre while running at full speed. #WEC #6HBahrain @DragonSpeedLLC pic.twitter.com/rLriMsqPoi
— WEC (@FIAWEC) October 30, 2021
LMP2 – Leader: Charles Milesi, Team WRT
- Close fight for the lead in LMP2 sees Team WRT and United Autosports battling through most of mi-race phase
- Charles Milesi takes over from Robin Frijns in WRT entry and is able to stabilise lead despite first Filipe Albuquerque and then Fabio Scherer chipping away at gap
- As fifth hour approaches Milesi has a 21-second advantage over the Scherer who experiences out-braking episode at T1 just before fifth hour
- JOTA place third and fourth as No.28 car driven by Stoffel Vandoorne is still in mix for podium position but is 10-seconds adrift of United Autosports
- No.38 JOTA car in hands of Anthony Davidson is fourth but further back from leading trio
- Racing Team Nederland head Pro/Am class as Frits van Eerd completes drive time and gives up cockpit to Job van Uitert
- Early race leaders Inter Europol Competition place fifth as Renger van der Zande begins second stint at the wheel
- Dragonspeed USA drop out of contention in LMP2 after Juan Pablo Montoya loses a wheel and tours back to the pits
It’s busy outside the TF garages, as after a super strong stint, @DylanPereiraLu comes in to switch with @ofelipefraga for the remaining two hours. @FIAWEC @AMR_Official @BAH_Int_Circuit #TFSport #WEC #6HBahrain pic.twitter.com/m0MomTnLo6
— TF Sport (@OfficialTFSport) October 30, 2021
LMGTE Am – Dylan Pereira, TF Sport Aston Martin
- TF Sport take up lead in LMGTE Am as Ben Keating completes mammoth stint and Dylan Pereira takes over to extend lead over No.98 Aston Martin entry
- Paul Dalla Lana undertakes second stint at the wheel as he looks to get a hat-trick of class wins at Bahrain
- Team Project 1 emerge in third position as Egidio Perfetti finishes opening double stint and Riccardo Pera behind chase of Aston Martins
- D’Station Aston Martin, which had brief period in lead during first hour, loses time after engine cover becomes detached on pit-straight
- Satoshi Hoshino drops to eighth place as a result after pitting for repairs
- Points leading No.83 AF Corse drops back to fifth in class after running over debris
