Bahrain Qualifying: Toyota front-row lock-out while Porsche on pole in LMGTE Pro
The No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar was fastest in today’s qualifying sessions for round five of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship – the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain which gets underway at 11am local time tomorrow.
The No. 92 Porsche heads LMGTE Pro for the fourth time this season, while No.28 JOTA takes top position in LMP2 for the team’s second pole of 2021. Iron Lynx on top in LMGTE Am ahead of No.98 Aston Martin Racing entry.
Below are the main headlines from quali.
Hypercar
- No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing takes Hypercar and overall pole in Bahrain as Brendon Hartley sets the pace
- Hartley guides Toyota GR010 HYBRID Hypercar to best lap of 1m47.049s
- Kiwi driver beats No.7 sister Toyota to reduce points deficit to eight points ahead of tomorrow's race
- No.7 Toyota second as Kamui Kobayashi sets best lap of 1m47.447s
- Alpine Elf Matmut Hypercar driven by Andre Negrao to start third after Brazilian laps in 1m48.003s
- Negrao gets fastest lap deleted in final moments after infringing track limits
The highlights of today's qualifying session.#WEC #6HBahrain pic.twitter.com/y3Q5YPhfsv
— WEC (@FIAWEC) October 29, 2021
LMGTE Pro
- No.92 Porsche GT Team takes LMGTE Pro pole as Kevin Estre sets best lap of 1m56.144s
- Frenchman celebrates four poles from five rounds so far this season and reduces gap in title chase to 11-points
- Porsche claims 1-2 lock-out as Gimmi Bruni takes No.91 Porsche 911 RSR to a best of 1m56.178s, just 0.034s off pole time
- Porsche enjoys sizeable 1.18 second advantage over class rival, Ferrari
- AF Corse Ferraris to start third and fourth as No.51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo heads No.52 AF Corse run entry
- Alessandro Pier Guidi and Miguel Molina set laps and ae separated by just 0.3s
No.92 @PorscheRaces takes LMGTE Pro pole as @kevinestre sets best lap of 1m58.144s. Frenchman celebrates four poles from five rounds so far this season and reduces gap in title chase to 11 points.#WEC #6HBahrain pic.twitter.com/s3JYRtAlfp
— WEC (@FIAWEC) October 29, 2021
LMP2
- Tom Blomqvist claims the pole in LMP2 class for JOTA for second time in 2021
- He laps in very rapid 1m49.932s to go marginally quicker than United Autosports USA car
- Filipe Albuquerque’s late time grabs second as team aims to defend LMP2 title
- JOTA also take third best time as No.38 Oreca-Gibson driven by Antonio Felix da Costa places third to make it three title contenders in first three positions on the grid
- Loic Duval peaks on a 1m50.559s to take fourth and also leads Pro/Am division for Realteam Racing
POLE POSITION @tom_blomqvist puts the #28 car on pole position for race day tomorrow!
— Jota Sport (@JotaSport) October 29, 2021
The #38 car starts 3rd thanks to a great lap by @afelixdacosta
All to play for in the 6 hour race tomorrow pic.twitter.com/jxLPCrohJn
LMGTE Am
- Rino Mastronardi seals first Iron Lynx pole position in FIA WEC in No.60 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
- Recent ELMS title winner laps in 1m59.687s to out-pace No.98 Aston Martin Racing car driven by Paul Dalla Lana by 0.7s
- Third on LMGTE Am grid is No.56 Project 1 Porsche as Egidio Perfetti gets to within 0.073s of the Aston
IT'S POLE POSITION!
— Ferrari Races (@FerrariRaces) October 29, 2021
Rino Mastronardi, at the wheel of the #60 @IronLynx_ #Ferrari488GTE, secures the fastest lap in the @FIAWEC #6HBahrain LMGTE AM class quali session! Well done #FerrariCompetizioniGT #FerrariRaces pic.twitter.com/GWTl3SsfDI
Tomorrow’s race will get underway at 11am local time.
