It is the finale, of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, at the Sakhir circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It is also, the finale, the swansong, for the Porsche factory LMP1 program, before Porsche continues in GT racing, but also, enters the Formula E championship, in 2018. This is a very similar situation to a year ago, when Audi made the same move, ending their involvement in the FIA World Endurance Championship, after so many wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for them, and moving to Formula E. Now, Porsche is going to make a similar move.
We will bring you, the opening hour, and the closing half, of the race in Bahrain. 'The Arabian night race, is next! On the northern tip of the island monarchy of Bahrain, we are ready to race. We have a full half dozen world titles to decide. We start in daylight, and end at night. The LMP1 driver's championship was decided two weeks ago in Shanghai, China. Some of the classes go four and five deep in competition for the championships. Wow! The battle will be down to the wire between Ford, Porsche, and Ferrari in GTE Pro.
Qualifying was very intense. In GTE Am, the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche was third. Ferrari was second. Aston Martin won pole. Davide Rigon and Sam Bird have pole in GTE Pro along with Aston Masrtin and Ford. In LMP2, Vaillante Rebellion was third. The two Jackie Chan DC Racing cars were up there. But Alexandre Negrao and Gustavo Menezes scored pole for Alpine. Porsche third, Toyota second, and Porsche first. Neel Jani and Nick Tandy have pole. Neel Jani had pole for their first race in 2014, and has pole for their last race.
The start, is coming up. The field is on track, to close the book on the 2017 WEC season. This track uses an aggregate imported from a quarry in the UK. The track is abrasive. LM GTE Pro will see some new cars for Aston Martin and BMW. Aston Martin is racing their V8 Vantage for their final time. Adhesive has been sprayed on the sand to kep the dust away in this desert environment. The finale of the 2017 FIA WEC starts, now! Holding the field, as the lights go out, and we're racing.
It's close as Mike Conway is trying to go for it. Th LMP1 hybrids create an instant gap over everyone else. Sebastien Buemi passes Mike Conway. Timo Bernhard is going for it. 15 corners on this track. Nine to the right and six to the left. The LMP2 and LM GTE Pro battles are also intense. Nicolas Lapierre leads Oliver Jarvis, and Bruno Senna in LMP2. Stefan Mucke disobeyed track limits in qualifying and had to start his Ford GT at the back of the grid in LM GTE Pro. Porsche and Toyota have won four races apiece. Who will break the tie?
Le Mans was the turning point in the season. There is a small bit of elevation change on this track. In Bahrain, 440 feet is the only elevation change in the whole country. It is very flat. Mike Conway races the Toyota. In the corners, the LMP1 Hybrids are going for it. But all the LMP2 cars are much quicker than the LMP1 Hybrids. The LMP2 cars with the Gibson engines, they are ten miles an hour faster and they are reliable. The Aston Martin is at a disadvantage. Matthias Lauda is having a tough old time getting by the Porsche and the Ferrari.
Five cars, and three manufacturers in LM GTE Am. We watch both Pro/Am classes. Good battles in the professional classes, too. G-Drive leads Manor in LMP2. Watch your tires. The ambient temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit and it won't change all that much. We have a safety car being dispatched for some reason. Debris on the road. Porsche #2 is driving defensively and so is #1. Porsche wants to win just as Audi did in their final race here last year. A marshal resets the bollard which was the debris and we'll have a clear track shortly.
We're back to racing now. Up front, Sebastien Buemi passes for second and some argy bargy in LMP2 between Oliver Jarvis and Bruno Senna. Porsche #2 in the pit lane! Oh my! The car could have run over some debris. Timo Bernhard at the wheel of it. Bernhard hit a bollard, jammed into the nose of the car. Bernhard was running somewhat slowly because of it. Can the #2 car rebound? Bernhard hit the bollard right on point. Boom! The LMP1 Hybrids are critical on heat. The batteries are sensitive and so are the aerodynamics and handling. If drivers lose downforce, changing the nose is the best remedy. Marco Sorenson is trying to hold Alessandro Pier Guidi at bay.
Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx for Ford could still clinch the title. SMP Racing debuted their Russian built BR1 Prototype for next year. SMP will run two cars, and DragonSpeed. That is for next year's super season. We're barely 20 minutes into the final round of the WEC season right now. Again, we are covering the opening hour, and we'll be back later on, to cover more of the race, towards it's conclusion.
The LMP2 battle continues, and there's been a monstrous scrap between Matthias Lauda and Christian Ried. Aston Martin vs. Porsche. Lauda ran wide and Christian Ried made a pass. Lauda gets Ried back on the next lap. That's the battle between the two championship contenders. Mike Wainwright is back in the Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR after having business commitments that didn't allow him to compete at Fuji and Shanghai. Take risks to make a pass. Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana had to tell Lauda, "dude!, we're only in the first half hour of the race! Don't push too hard."
Alessandro Pier Guidi passes Marco Sorenson. Ford tested at Bahrain with Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx. Tincknell is second, to Sam Bird in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. Nicolas Lapierre, Vitaly Petrov, and Oliver Jarvis are battling for LMP2 honors. Timo Bernhard is only eighth in the overall while the LMP2's are fourth, fifth, and sixth. It isn't easy to slice through traffic because the LMP2's are so fast! The LMP1 cars still have their hybrid boost. The LMP1 boys have to be careful. Be observant in your mirrors to make sure you are cleasr.
This LMP1 hybrid technology has changed racing tactics. They accelerate through the corners, recapture the energy under braking, and are not as quick down the straightaways compared to the LMP2 machines. Porsche have been quicker at three races while Toyota has been quickest in five races. Toyota will be back next year, but a lot is changing. We'll talk about those ideas, coming up, as we have in the news updates here on the blog.
We're still in hour one of the finale of the WEC season for 2017. Vitaly Petrov held the class lead in LMP2 until he pitted. Actually, the #26 sister car pitted. Petrov also has experience in Formula 1 and DTM. Buemi and Jani battle for the lead as does Mike Conway. Timo Bernhard has brought the sister Porsche back to fourth in the overall. Jani tries Conway on the inside! Wow! Andre Lotterer drove Audi's final race last year, and now, he's driving for Porsche's final race. Lotterer has not won yet this year. He can't be happy. Tandy and Jani have had more pace. Lotterer has struggled to come to grips with the Porsche.
Jani and Lotterer will go to Formula E, but remain Porsche contracted drivers. There's tire pickup already. Ford GT #66 passes Porsche 911 RSR #92. Stefan Mucke vs. Michael Christensen. Check that. Richard Lietz is the driver taking on Stefan Mucke. This is the #91 of Richard Lietz and Fred Makowiecki. Nicolas Lapierre battles Bruno Senna in LMP2. Where is Oliver Jarvis? Rebellion has three wins out of the last four races, and they've found the sweet spot with their car. Rebellion could continue to imrpove. It's a beautiful sunset, not that anyone noticed. Sunset is around 4:45 P.M. This track is mostly pavement, but still with some grass and sand around. The sunset is lovely.
Bahrain is 92% desert. Now, the LMP2 cars are in the lane. Senna and Lapierre, both. Loic Duval has been running in DTM with Audi this year. When you have pit stops, carry your speed in and maintain it even as you hit the pit lane. Wow. 45 minutes of this race have already passed. Manor hopes to race both LMP1 and LMP2 next year. Lots of changes coming in the WEC. The calendar will also be different. It will be the Super Season. They will race 1,500 miles of Sebring, next March.
It will be about a six month off season before the super season begins. Toyota runs 1-2 in Bahrain. The sun continues to draw to the horizon. The Buemi and Conway scrap continues, both Toyota's running well as one of the Manor cars almost spins into turn ten. Jean Eric Vergne at the wheel of the car. David Heinemeier Hanson is very racy after also running very well at Shanghai last time. Heinemeier Hanson passes Alex Brundle for ninth overall, and fifth in class. Check that, that was Nicolas Lapierre in the #36 car, the Signatech Alpine. #36 is going backwards a ways.
Rebellion is taking a good look at the LMP1 class for next year. They used to race in LMP1 privateer. Ooh. The #13 Rebellion of Heinemeier Hanson, spins. Ooh! He got chopped, squeezed by the Aston Martin of Marco Sorenson. Wow. That was close. Look for the language of the car in front of you. Are they going to give you the inside line, or not? Different drivers are behind the wheel. Read the situation differently. You are on your toes in these races, all the time. At the top of the hour, we will switch to Bundesliga soccer. We'll see you at 10:30 A.M. this morning to finish this race.
At the end of the day, nine trophies will be presented. Porsche #1 is in the pit lane from third. He ran 31 laps on fuel and tires, which was the forecast distance. Neel Jani is driving well and not exerting too much energy. Sebastien Buemi is asked by Toyota if he's confident about his tires. In the future, the rules will change so that fuel and tires can be done at the same time, but now, that is not the case. Toyota in the lane with both cars. No driver change, and a fresh set of tires. Well, that's not how it works, Seb. Sorry, mate. Now, both Toyota's are back on track. Jose Maria Lopez has had more contact than the team wants to see at Toyota. Lopez has speed, but needs to continue learning sports car racing.
You are allowed one wheel rattle gun, but they can be switched around between sides and ends of the car to make the stops go quicker. Studying the tires. We'll step away from coverage for a while. But, we'll be back soon.
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