Ferrari Lead Hectic First 2 Hours in Bahrain

HYPERCAR – Leader:  No.51 Ferrari AF Corse

·      Sebastien Buemi leads from pole in the opening exchanges but drama comes in the first stint when he is tipped in to a spin by Hiroshi Koizumi driven No.82 TF Sport Corvette while lapping him. Japanese driver receives a 5-second stop-go penalty for the incident

·      That drops Buemi down to seventh position before the first placed stops, although he manages to split the two BMW’s driven by Rene Rast and Marco Wittmann

·      The incident gives Antonio Giovinazzi in the No.51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P the lead and he is able to build a 7-second lead

·      The battle for second place rages between two of the three customer Porsches as Will Stevens in the No.12 Hertz Team Jota entry hunts down Julien Andlauer in the No.99 Proton Competition Porsche and claims the position

·      Andlauer also loses third to Mike Conway  and the recovering Buemi as the Proton’s softer tyres start to fade

·      After the first pits-stops it is Stevens who takes the lead for Hertz Team Jota after taking less tyres than Giovinazzi in the pits

·      But the British driver gets involved in an incident with the No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari and the two touch but continue unscathed. Francois Heriau receives warning only.

·      Giovinazzi slowly reels in Stevens and as the second pit stops arrive he is right with the Gold Porsche and makes a move in to Turn 4 just before the third hour arrives

·      The two Toyotas run third and fourth as Mike Conway heads Sebastien Buemi throughout the second hour

·      The second of the Hertz Team Jota Porsches runs fifth as Phil Hanson settles in to promising position after moving up order earlier in race

·      Completing the top six was Andlauer, but a drive-through penalty applied to the No.99 Proton Porsche for overtaking under yellow flags drops the car back to 14^th position

·      The Top 10 in Hypercar is completed by: 7^th No.83 AF Corse Ferrari; 8^th No.2 Cadillac; 9^th No.94 Peugeot; 10^th No.35 Alpine

·      Tough start to the race for the Porsche Penske cars as both lose positions on the first lap. No.5 surges back through to place sixth in hands of Matt Campbell

LM GT3 – Leader: No.81 TF Sport Corvette

·      United Autosports McLaren run 1-2 from the start with Joshua Caygill in the No.95 leading from stablemate James Cottingham in the No.59 car

·      But the pair are caught by a flying Tom van Rompuy in the No.81 TF Sport Corvette

·      Those three are shuffled when Cottingham finds his way through in sector two and van Rompuy takes advantage and also slips through cleanly

·      The Corvette claims the lead after the first scheduled pit stop as Charlie Eastwood takes over from Van Rompuy in the cockpit and looks to stretch the advantage

·      Recently crowned champions Manthey PureRxcing also jump the McLarens in to second place with Joel Sturm taking over from starter Aliaksandr Malykhin

·      To compound United Autosports worries is an investigation in to a possible technical infraction at the start of the second hour. But they still place second and third with Nicolas Pino taking over No.95 and Cottingham staying aboard No.59

·      Stewards later give reprimand only to McLarens for Power Unit limit investigation

·      VISTA AF Corse Ferrari build strong start to the race as Francois Heriau completes double stint in No.55 and Thomas Flohr takes over from Francesco Castellacci in No.54 car

·      Flohr vaults Heriau at start of second stint to claim fifth position

·      The Top 10 in LMGT3 is completed by: 7^th No.91 Manthey EMA Porsche; 8^th No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin; 9^th No.87 Akkodis ASP Lexus; 10^th No.82 TF Sport Corvette

·      Issues for the No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus as Arnold Robin is forced to pit with a mechanical problem in the first hour as long repairs continue

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