Bahrain: Toyota No. 7 takes pole while Porsche clinches top spot in GTE Pro
Under the floodlights of the Bahrain International Circuit, the LMP and GTE cars took to the track for the final qualifying session of the season ahead of tomorrow’s 8 Hours of Bahrain.
After a thorough investigation by the stewards after qualifying, the majority of lap times which had previously been deleted were reinstated and ultimately only nine lap times remain deleted during qualifying.
Find the main headlines from qualifying below.
LMP1
• Third pole of WEC Season 8 for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s No. 7 TS050 HYBRID as Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway combine with an average lap time of 1:40.747
• Conway set fastest lap of the entire session with a time of 1:40.114 before Lopez took over
• No. 7’s pole position sees the crew accrue one bonus point, reducing the gap over their team-mates in the No. 8 car to just six points going into tomorrow’s race
• Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima qualify in the sister TS050 HYBRID – the duo setting a combined time of 1:41.494 with the team electing not to change tyres for the No. 8 car’s second run in order to save rubber for tomorrow’s duel in the desert
That's a pole position for the no.7 @Toyota_Hybrid and drivers @Mikeconway26 @pechito37 and @kamui_kobayashi. Congrats gentlemen and now let's finish the TS050's book tomorrow.#WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/JPBFthawtx
— WEC (@FIAWEC) November 13, 2020
LMGTE Pro
• Porsche GT Team’s No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen takes pole position with a combined time of 1:56.505 – the pairing’s third pole of WEC Season 8
• Aston Martin Racing’s GT World Championship points-leading pair of Nicki Thiim and Marco were second, the pair setting a combined time of 1:56.521
• Making it 3 different manufacturers in the first 3 positions is the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of James Calado and Daniel Serra. The two set a fastest average time of 1:56.706.
LMP2
• United Autosports continued its superb run of form with another pole position – the British team’s fourth of the season
• Paul Di Resta and Phil Hanson took to the wheel of the No. 22 ORECA 07 Gibson to set an average time of 1:47.440
• Jackie Chan DC Racing will start tomorrow’s race second out of the six LMP2 crews competing in Bahrain, with Gabriel Aubry and Will Stevens combining to take an average time of 1:48.238
• Third in LMP2 was the No. 36 Signatech Alpine Alf as French duo Thomas Laurent and Pierre Ragues were just 0.232s adrift of the JCDCR entry
LMGTE Am
• Aston Martin Racing’s No.98 Vantage AMR of Paul Dalla Lana and Ross Gunn combined to set a best time of 1:58.356
• It is a first pole position of the season for the No.98 which welcomed back Pedro Lamy to the line-up after a last-minute shuffle of AMR drivers.
• Second in class was TF Sport’s Jonny Adam and Salih Yoluc time of 1:58.808 which puts them in a good position for tomorrow in the car they will share with Charlie Eastwood.
• Just narrowly losing out on a front row place in GTE Am by 0.06s was the No.62 Red River Sport Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Kei Cozzolino and Bonamy Grimes – their best qualifying result of the season.
Tomorrow’s 8 Hours of Bahrain begins at 14h00 local time, with additional points on offer for the longer race.
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