Endurance... the sports car racing blog: December 2019

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Double Stint: WEC Year in Review (12-31-19)

This week's Double Stint Podcast, on New Year's Eve day 2019, looks back at the first part of the FIA WEC season, all the races from the last part of the 2019 calendar year.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/double-stint-wec-year-in-review/

more IMSA news headed for the Roar Before the Rolex 24

More news from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship looking ahead to this weekend's Roar Before The Rolex 24.

MSR Reveals Hot Pink Livery for No. 86 Acura
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/msr-reveals-hot-pink-livery-for-no-86-acura/

Garcia: "Big Steps" to Come With Corvette C8.R at Roar
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/garcia-big-steps-to-come-with-corvette-c8-r-at-roar/

Bleekemolen, Mueller in Black Swan Lineup for Roar
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/bleekemolen-mueller-in-black-swan-lineup-for-roar/

Hunter-Reay in Mazda DPi Effort for Rolex 24
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/hunter-reay-confirmed-at-mazda-for-rolex-24/

Drivers Confirmed in Updated Roar Before 24 Entry List
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/drivers-confirmed-in-updated-roar-before-24-entry-list/

New Livery for GRT Magnus Lamborghini
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/new-livery-for-grt-magnus-lamborghini/

Monday, December 30, 2019

MP 716: Porsche 911 RSR In-Car Audio, Sebring 2019

Check this out. In-car audio, from the Marshall Pruett Podcast, of the Porsche 911 RSR with it's screaming, singing 4 liter Flat 6 engine that we've heard for the final time, with the new car coming to IMSA at the Rolex 24, next month.

https://marshallpruett.podbean.com/e/mp-716-porsche-911-rsr-in-car-audio-sebring-2019/?fbclid=IwAR3n5s207Hj-QELfwJnkfI8pjDh_rBFOTA3v2ClBxyGwRkJN5Bt8BOH6tPA

GM, O'Connell End Relationship; "95 Percent Retired"

Johnny O'Connell's contract with GM set to lapse; not ruling out one-off endurance drives...

https://sportscar365.com/industry/oconnell-gm-end-relationship/

Weekly Racing Roundup (12-30-19)

Australian GT Trophy Series schedule and new points format plus other news of the week...

https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-12-30-19/

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Glickenhaus Has Started Building Its Le Mans Hypercar

The regulations may not be 100 percent set, but SCG's 007 is on the way.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/a30344252/glickenhaus-has-started-building-its-le-mans-hypercar/?fbclid=IwAR204NXFIdYJ5o94MkWyyfvRvDEeE8SqivMOr_zJ2WtYECSTyJnhgP7AsWY

2019 Goodbyes

Cars that we bid farewell to in the world of sports car racing as 2019 comes to a close and 2020 is upon us.

2019 Goodbyes: Ford GT
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/26/2019-goodbyes-ford-gt.html

2019 Goodbyes: Ligier NISMO DPi
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/27/2019-goodbyes-ligier-nismo-dpi.html

2019 Goodbyes: Aston Martin Vantage GT3
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/28/2019-goodbyes-aston-martin-vantage-gte.html

2019 Goodbyes: BR Engineering BR1 LMP1
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/29/2019-goodbyes-br-engineering-br1-lmp1.html

Era Motorsport commits to full IMSA LMP2 season

Era Motorsport has announced it will contest the full LMP2 schedule in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in 2020 on top of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

https://www.motorsport.com/imsa/news/era-motorsport-full-lmp2-season/4616855/?nrt=207

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Michelin to Develop "Two Families" of Tires for Hypercar

Michelin's Matthieu Bonardel on Le Mans Hypercar tire development for 2020-21 launch season...

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/michelin-to-develop-two-families-of-tires-for-hypercar-class/

Cheng: Chinese Hypercar Interest in "Wait and See" Game

David Cheng not giving up hopes on potential Chinese manufacturer in WEC's top class.

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/cheng-chinese-hypercar-interest-in-wait-and-see-game/

Friday, December 27, 2019

FIA WEC & IMSA news

A combined post, looking at more news from both IMSA and WEC.

Cheng: Chinese Hypercar Interest in "Wait and See" Game
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/cheng-chinese-hypercar-interest-in-wait-and-see-game/

Michelin to Develop "Two Families" of Tires for Hypercar
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/michelin-to-develop-two-families-of-tires-for-hypercar-class/

Heinricher/MSR Acura Livery Revealed
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/heinricher-msr-acura-livery-revealed/

Minassian Confirmed at Era; Team Commits to Full Season

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/minassian-to-lead-era-lineup-at-daytona-team-commits-for-full-lmp2-season/

First Look at No. 3 Corvette C8.R
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/first-look-at-no-3-corvette-c8-r/

Thursday, December 26, 2019

news from Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe

8 Hours of Bahrain 52 minute report

The 52 minute, condensed race replay of the 8 Hours of Bahrain. We join Martin Haven, Allan McNish, and Graeme Goodwin in the booth, and Louise Beckett in the pit lane, for the race call.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Toyota looking to make unrestricted TS050 Hybrid run

From Racer magazine.

Toyota is exploring ways to unshackle it's double-Le Mans winning TS050 HYBRID LMP1 car, which is due to be retired at the end of the current FIA World Endurance Championship season, and break it's own Le Mans lap record from 2017.

https://racer.com/2019/12/23/toyota-looking-to-make-unrestricted-ts050-hybrid-run/?fbclid=IwAR3mwPcQQYsMTQMbKX9Uv7zPmfvbTTbGPcskmFZ2rSJOYuNgTboxGDWO86k

IMSA news mega post

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Double Stint: SRO Year In Review (12-24-19)

On the latest Double Stint Podcast, it is a review of Intercontinental GT Challenge and SRO Europe.

https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-challenge-europe/double-stint-igtc-world-challenge-europe-year-in-review/

Final 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Entry List Tracker

From North American Racecar on Facebook, the final 2020 entry list tracker as we ready for the new IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/north-american-racecar/final-2020-imsa-weathertech-entry-list-tracker/2580733532046249/

Monday, December 23, 2019

FIA WEC headlines (continued)

More headlines from the FIA WEC looking ahead to the second half of the 2019-2020 season and especially the two upcoming races in the United States at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida.

De Chaunac: Hypercar/DPi 2.0 Merger First Step to Single Class

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/de-chaunac-hypercar-dpi-2-0-merger-first-step-to-common-platform/

The new Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is set to make what will be just its second race start, and it’s first in the World Championship, at Circuit of the Americas.

Factory Corvette C8.R Confirmed for COTA
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/factory-corvette-c8-r-confirmed-for-cota/

Single Tire Supplier for GTE-Pro Unlikely
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/single-tire-supplier-for-gte-pro-unlikely/

LMP2 Drivers Voice Support for WEC Bronze Driver Mandate

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lmp2-drivers-voice-support-for-wec-bronze-driver-mandate/

Weekly Racing Roundup (12-23-19)

News and notes from the past week in sports car racing...

https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-12-23-19/

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Full 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona Entry List

The full entry list for the Rolex 24 is finally here!

https://www.motorsport.com/imsa/news/daytona-rolex-24-entry-list/4615877/?fbclid=IwAR3ztRsGhWJZANPJwmCtYUnAbBlhuOGzwnABkbtD0pw2vtDkoWxTkPI0hMY

Magnus Racing in Retrospective

A look back at the decade long history of the now defunct Magnus Racing Team. We the fans will miss you. This video is from the start of last season when Magnus was still here, readying, like all of us to celebrate the milestone golden anniversary of IMSA. Right now, let us take a look back and pay a find farewell to the team that brought this sport so much over the course of the last decade.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Kelvin van der Linde at Home in South Africa

A look into Kelvin van der Linde's career as Audi Sport visits his home in South Africa...

Inside Team Perfect Circle's Return to Kyalami 9H

A look back at Team Perfect Circle's return to revived Kyalami 9 Hour...

Intercontinental GT Challenge headlines

It has been a couple weeks since there's been news of note from Intercontinental GT Challenge. Now is the time to catch up on that. Here's the latest.

BMW will be back in the IGTC in 2020.

BMW Set to Return for Second IGTC Season
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/bmw-set-to-return-for-second-igtc-season/

A story that was also included in a recent FIA WEC update, as they will not clash on their schedule, with the Bathurst 12 Hours, the opening event of IGTC 2020.

Campbell "Extremely Excited" by Resolved Bathurst, WEC Clash
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/campbell-extremely-excited-by-resolved-bathurst-wec-clash/

Dixon Linked to R-Motorsport Bathurst 12H Drive
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/dixon-linked-to-r-motorsport-bathurst-12h-drive/

Dixon Confirmed in R-Motorsport Bathurst 12H Entry
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/dixon-confirmed-in-r-motorsport-bathurst-12h-entry/

Absolute to Run Two Factory Porsche's at Bathurst 12H
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/absolute-to-run-two-factory-porsches-at-bathurst/

As it is with BMW, Honda has also confirmed it's return to the Intercontinental GT Challenge for 2020.

Honda Confirms IGTC Return
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/honda-confirms-igtc-return/

Stay tuned for a couple more IGTC related feature stories/videos. Those, are coming up.

Friday, December 20, 2019

IMSA 2020 BoP: An Explainer

Why does BoP (Balance of Performance) exist in sports car racing? Here are some answers to this very complex question.

https://www.imsa.com/news/122019/imsa-2020-bop-explainer

IMSA news & Roar Before The Rolex 24 Entry List

More news from IMSA and the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, for your Friday, plus the news we've been waiting for, a 40 car entry list for the Roar Before The Rolex 24.

IMSA Releases Daytona Starting BoP; Revised Process for 2020
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsa-releases-daytona-starting-bop-revised-process-for-2020/

Wright Confirms Single-Car Porsche GTD Effort for Daytona
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/wright-confirms-single-car-porsche-gtd-effort-for-daytona/

40 Entries for Roar Before 24
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/40-entries-for-roar-before-rolex-24/

Davison to Lead RWR Riley LMP2 Program for Endurance Cup
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/davison-to-lead-rwr-riley-lmp2-effort/

FIA WEC news (continued)

More news from the FIA World Endurance Championship. The spigot has been turned on, as we now have a break between races before the season resumes in February at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Aston Martin Finalizing Le Mans GTE-Pro Lineup
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aston-martin-finalizing-le-mans-gte-pro-lineups/

Toyota to Give Buemi "Fair Consideration" to Skip Sebring
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/toyota-to-give-buemi-fair-consideration-to-skip-sebring/

A new pole qualifying format is announced for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 'Hyperpole', specifically for the new Hypercar class.

New 'Hyperpole' Qualifying Format Announced
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/new-hyperpole-qualifying-format-announced/

The ACO has made changes to the procedure for automatic entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

ACO Revises Le Mans Auto Entry Process
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aco-revises-le-mans-auto-entry-process/

Turner: Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar Will Be "Incredible"
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/turner-aston-valkyrie-lm-hypercar-will-be-incredible/

Drivers, Teams In Favor of 2020-21 Calendar Changes
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/drivers-teams-in-favor-of-2020-21-calendar-changes/

Thursday, December 19, 2019

more IMSA headlines

We continue to examine headlines from IMSA, and the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, including the news that Magnus Racing will be no more.

Newey Completes DragonSpeed Lineup for Daytona

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/newey-completes-dragonspeed-lineup-for-daytona/

Magnus Shuts Down; Potter, Lally to Drive GRT-Prepped Lambo

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/magnus-shuts-down-potter-lally-to-continue-in-grt-prepared-lambo/

New Starworks Oreca LMP2 Car Completes Shakedown
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/new-starworks-oreca-completes-shakedown/

Riberas, De Angelis Confirmed in Heart of Racing Aston Martin

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/riberas-de-angelis-confirmed-in-heart-of-racing-aston/

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Juncos to skip Rolex 24; in doubt for 2020 IMSA season

Ricardo Juncos will not enter his car at the Rolex 24 next month, and hopes to have a new owner for the team so they can continue racing in the WeatherTech Championship. We shall see.

https://racer.com/2019/12/18/juncos-to-skip-rolex-24-in-doubt-for-2020-imsa-season/?fbclid=IwAR18L_sUW28IHVHQ9DPVV0K3laxPZZlZUcYuOQx40kYnOSwOYMFQBp69dvA

IMSA news (continued)

More news from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, as the Roar Before The Rolex 24 is coming very soon, in a few short weeks.

BMW Moves Spengler to Full-Time IMSA Program
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/bmw-moves-spengler-to-full-time-imsa-program/

Park Place Targeting Sprint-Cup Only Campaign for 2020
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/park-place-targeting-sprint-cup-only-campaign/

Van Gisbergen Confirmed in AVS Lexus for Rolex 24
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/van-gisbergen-confirmed-in-avs-lexus-for-rolex-24/

BMW Finalizes Remainder of GTLM Lineup
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/bmw-finalizes-remainder-of-gtlm-lineup/

Lewis to Complete Paul Miller Lineup for Endurance Cup
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/lewis-to-complete-paul-miller-lineup-for-endurance-cup-races/

Michelin Reduces Tire Allocations for 2020
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/michelin-reduces-tire-allocations-for-2020/

Catsburg Confirmed at Corvette for Endurance Races
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/corvette-confirms-catsburg-as-new-endurance-driver/

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Double Stint: SRO America Year in Review

Yours truly hoped to write more about this year's SRO America season. Maybe, that will still happen, if I have enough energy to delve into looking back on a good number of the races and writing full reports about them. Nonetheless, this week's Double Stint Podcast focuses on the year in review of the top North American GT3 championship, and SRO America. Check it out. A bonus post for your Tuesday.

https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-challenge-america/double-stint-sro-america-year-in-review/

more FIA World Endurance Championship headlines

More of the latest news from the FIA World Endurance Championship after the 8 Hours of Bahrain including a scheduling/start time change for the 1,000 Miles of Sebring in March.

New Start Time for 1000 Miles of Sebring
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/new-start-time-for-1000-miles-of-sebring/

ACO Clarifies Hypercar ‘Automotive Brand’ Eligibility
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aco-clarifies-hypercar-automotive-brand-eligibility/

Michelin Was “Not Involved” in LMP2 Spec Tire Decision
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/michelin-not-involved-in-lmp2-spec-tire-decision/

Phil Hanson’s latest column, as he reflects on his first career win in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

HANSON: Our Breakthrough First WEC Win
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/hanson-our-breakthrough-first-wec-win/

Top Photos From ‘Super Season’ Prize-Giving Ceremony

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/top-photos-from-super-season-champions-prize-giving-ceremony/

Di Resta to Complete Season with United Despite DTM Clashes
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/di-resta-to-complete-season-with-united-despite-dtm-clashes/

Toyota: ORECA Exit Has ‘No Impact’ on Hypercar Program
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/toyota-oreca-exit-has-no-impact-on-hypercar-program/

Monday, December 16, 2019

more IMSA news

Sunday, December 15, 2019

2018-2019 WEC Super Season Final Film

Endurance is pure motorsport and motorsport is my life. Congratulations to all the World Champions who fought so hard in this unique Super Season!

=====================

Script of the film:

It will be easy to remember it…for ever I drive and I race to win. Championships, races, I have won many in my career… But the WEC Super Season will always remain unique We gave it all Racing for hours and days Days and nights We never gave up We used to fight against time, Against the elements of the 4 seasons, Sometimes all in one day Blowing wind, burning sun, sudden rain, and surprising snow… The 4 seasons of Endurance… When it’s not enough to hold the line… When too much is not enough Be fast, be reliable, be smart, be there… From start to finish…From dusk till dawn… Be on top of what you do, whatever happens… And the WEC is also Le Mans How do you tell about the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Without doubt, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is to motor racing what Everest is to mountain climbing Reaching for the top, searching for the ideal path Looking for your own limits, those of others and from the car In the end we did it, we reached the top with Toyota, my teammates Seb Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima and together we won the WEC Super Season and Le Mans twice…that will never change For all these great reasons I will never forget this world championship and it’s for these same great reasons that I love motorsport. Endurance is pure motorsport and motorsport is my life.

Lone Star Le Mans 2019: Teaser

When this race happens, it will be 2020, and we will be into the second calendar year of the FIA WEC season. See you for the Lone Star Le Mans, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, this coming February as the saga of the FIA World Endurance Championship continues.

8 Hours of Bahrain race recap & post-race news

Recapping all the action from the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Race Recap:

Conway Leads Opening Hour after First-Lap Clash

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/conway-leads-opening-hour-after-leaders-clash-on-lap-1/

Rebellion Loses Second Place with Trip to Garage

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/rebellion-loses-second-place-with-trip-to-garage/

No. 7 Toyota Out Front at Halfway as GTE-Pro Porsche’s Hit Trouble

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/toyota-no-7-out-front-at-halfway-as-pro-porsches-hit-trouble/

Aston Martin’s Sorensen, Thiim Prevail in GTE-Pro

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aston-martins-sorensen-thiim-prevail-in-gte-pro/

Toyota Takes Commanding 8H Bahrain Win

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/no-7-toyota-takes-points-lead-with-commanding-bahrain-win/

Post-Race news:

Martin Haven, lead commentator for the FIA WEC, recaps the action in Bahrain.

Bahrain Race Highlights

No. 8 Toyota Was in “Survival Mode” After Incident-Filled Race

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/no-8-toyota-was-in-survival-mode-after-incident-filled-race/

“Iron Man” Keating Triple Stint Nets Maiden WEC Win

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/iron-man-keating-stints-net-maiden-wec-win/

Molina Accepts Penalty That Cost Ferrari’s Victory Chance

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/molina-accepts-penalty-that-cost-ferraris-victory-chance/

Senna ‘Regrets’ Giving Ginetta Room to Race After Lap 1 Clash

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/senna-regrets-giving-ginetta-room-to-race-after-lap-1-clash/

“Surprise” Porsche Setbacks Dashed Three-Way Lead Battle

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/surprise-porsche-setbacks-prevented-three-way-gte-pro-lead-battle/

Bahrain Post-Race Notebook
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/bahrain-post-race-notebook-5/

Magnussen: First LMP2 Experience ‘Quite Enjoyable’

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/magnussen-prototype-return-quite-enjoyable/

Today, the day after the race, there was a rookie test, and Kenta Yamashita, driving for Toyota was fastest, as roughly half the field of cars from the race itself, took part in the test session.

Yamashita Fastest Rookie in Rain-Affected Bahrain Test

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/yamashita-fastest-rookie-in-rain-affected-bahrain-test/

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 8 (the finish)

We are into the final hour of the Bahrain 8 Hours. In the pit stops in GTE Pro, maybe Aston Martin has short filled. Christian Ried was penalized for spinning the wheels in the lane. Jeroen Bleekemolen leads LM GTE Am. Alex Lynn flashes the headlights, begging "please, let me through!" Aston Martin is now in the pit lane. They are stuck behind the Mark Patterson LMP2 car that is still being serviced, having it's tail repaired. The #95 Aston Martin will take over the lead in GTE Pro. AF Corse are second. So, Alex Lynn, on used, potential qualifying tires, is going to end up in third spot. Where's James Calado? Calado is right behind Alex Lynn now. This is going to be steaming right to the finish.

Toyota #8 just cannot unlap themselves from their sister car. Brendon Hartley says they have a hole in the floor. But they won't pass their sister car. Alex Lynn was inches in front of the Ferrari in GTE Pro. Jose Maria Lopez is your race leader. Alex Lynn is just barely ahead of James Calado. It is now Maxime Martin, the Belgian, who is at the controls of the Aston Martin, to take the car to the finish. Aston Martin boss Paul Howarth does not want to get snookered on tires. Miguel Molina is now being investigated for wheel spinning out of the pit lane. There is a bollard knocked over onto the racing surface. We could get another Full Course Yellow. We have had one Full Course Yellow and one safety car.

This will be a very short yellow. Race Director Edoardo Freitas wants races to flow, not to be interrupted. That's the best way to go about it. Aston Martin #98 pits and this promotes Team Project 1 to the head of the field in LM GTE Am. We will go Full Course Yellow. On the start/finish straight, all cars bear to the right. The #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car of Will Stevens is in the lane. Come to the lane if you have to, not if you want to, and then take a splash and dash at the end. This might be a long cleanup, so it could be a benefit for some. Left side tires only for United Autosport. The #38 Jota Sport car is slow on the back straight, but, it may have a chance to regroup and head for the lane.

This is the final stop for the #7 Toyota, from the lead of the motor race with just 43 minutes left on the board. Team Project 1 has to pit and so do a few other teams, while still others, have made their final stops and can go to the end. The bollard is replaced. But, it might not last. We'll find out. Thankfully this isn't touring car racing where there is far more argy bargy. Brand new tires for the final 40 minutes. Waste not want not. Racing Team Nederland takes fuel, and we are back to green flag racing. Ferrari goes for the position on the Astonn Martin, annd there was more argy bargy. That's the wrong way to play the game. Miguel Molina exceeded track limits. Molina will say, "he pushed me aside!" But, Marco Sorenson actually went for it.

The sister Aston Martin, Maxime Martin at the controls, is running ahead of the sister Ferrari. That's Miguel Molina at the wheel of it. Good news to report. TF Sport are back on track, and they were in the pit lane for an hour and 11 minutes. It's bee since Sebring 2019, since we had more than two retirements other than the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If TF Sport finishes, they won't lose the championship lead in LM GTE Am. TF Sport will get two points. Maxime Martin is chasing the sister Ferrari of James Calado. Molina locks the brakes. Big lockup there, look. Wheel spin off the pit lane, earns you a drive through penalty.

Actually, it's worse. It is a stop and go for Jim Calado. Poor old Jimmy, will be fuming. Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin have all led in GTE Pro today, at one point or another. Porsche takes a massive hit in the manufacturer's championship because of points and a half. Porsche will be crying in their beers tonight, and lying their heads down on their pillows thinking, "what on earth did we do wrong?! Oh, the agony!" Speaking of agony, Ferrari #71 has been handed their stop and go penalty for spinning the wheels in the pit lane at the end of their stop before they moved away. It's concrete. It's covered in grit, brake dust, sand. These cars have a clutch like a light switch.

AF Corse will lose a podium, but they will finish ahead of Porsche. Marco Sorenson has no pressure. Cetillar in the lane, and they have one more driver change. Not sure who is in the car. Giorgio Sernagiotto is done driving, so it will be either Roberto Lacorte or Andrea Belicchi driving for the final half hour. The Cetillar car is slow out of the lane and there was nearly a wreck between the Ferrari and the Aston Martin! Yikes! Miguel Molina in the pit lane serving the stop and go penalty. Stop, go. Take your medicine, and get back after it.

Ferrari now, has had their team manager for the #51 car summoned to visit the Race Director, Edoardo Freitas. Ugh! Not good. Does anyone need a splash in GTE Pro? No. Seven hours and 34 minutes have been raced. 25 minutes to go. Jose Maria Lopez leads his team car by over a lap. One car needs fuel, and that is the #33 High Class Racing car of Kenta Yamashita who is in the lane now as we speak. Jose Maria Lopez has Maxime Martin and James Calado right ahead. Kazuki Nakajima is at the wheel of the #8 Toyota. Jean Eric Vergne is catching Will Stevens in LMP2, and fast.

The LMP2 battle is still hot and heavy. Incident between cars #51 and #97 at turn ten under investigation. That's the Aston and the Ferrari. Molina in the #71 car took the spot and gave it back. It says it was #51. It was 18 minutes ago, at 10:19PM local time. Alexander Wurz is overseeing a 1-2 for Toyota, former endurance and Formula 1 driver. Car #51 must give position back to #97 because of previous incident. We thought it was #95 and #71, but that was a booboo. Maxime Martin will resume in third in LM GTE Pro. Unfortunately, the two cars are identical in colors.
Two red Ferrari's, and two bright yellow Aston Martin's, almost chartreuse in color. Car #51 will give the spot back to car #97, per Edoardo Fretias' radio transmission.

Marco Sorenson leads from Miguel Molina, Maxime Martin, and James Calado. Porsche will want to erase this weekend from their memory bank. Team Project 1 have led at least 3/4 of this race. United Autosports might just the opportunity for victory in LMP2 which should make team owner Zak Brown very happy. The Aston Martin is clearly running ahead of the Ferrari at this moment. Maxime Martin is 6.4 seconds behind Miguel Molina. Jean-Eric Vergne has to unlap himself from the leader if he wants to catch his rivals. Filipe Albuquerque is in a fight with his Portuguese countryman Antonio Felix Da Costa.

Toyota has completed 250 laps, 840 miles. Porsche #92 will retain second place, #91 retains third in GTE Pro points, but Aston Martin will reel in Porsche. Ferrari has had a nonstarter as we're halfway home. We have four races, but have more mileage and more points. Two normal points earning races at Circuit of the Americas and Spa Francorchamps, and double points races at Sebring and Le Mans. Jean Eric Vergne will catch Will Stevens. Will Stevens is feeling the heat, being eaten up by Jean Eric Vergne.

Aston Martin have risen to the top, but have done far better than Ferrari and Porsche have today in Bahrain. The leader won't be caught or so it seems. The podium in LMP2 is still up for grabs. Debris on the road at turn one. That's a bit of bodywork from Dallara and maybe Ferrari. Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes, and Norman Nato, wanted a race with the Ginetta's and the Toyota's, but they have not been able to recover from the first lap shemozzle with the Ginetta and the Toyota. Toyota will have maximum success ballast when we get to the next race. Details of that, are below.

The TF Sport Aston Martin is in the garage. They won't score points since they are not on the road, and are in the garage. Someone is weaving, the GTE Am leader, scrubbing clag off the tires, or, having fuel surge issues. A spot of bother for Cool Racing as Nicolas Lapierre heads for the pit lane for a splash and a dash. Aston Martin looks likely to win the longest race of the year so far. It will be this lap and one more for the overall leader, Toyota #7. The last few corners, coming up. One more lap, actually. Will Stevens is being eaten up by Jean Eric Vergne. Who will win LMP2? Actually that is for third.

256 laps, 860 miles for the winner. G-Drive runs out of fuel on the last lap! Wow. Toyota #7 of Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez, and Kamui Kobayashi are going to win! They win the 8 Hours of Bahrain! It is a Toyota 1-2. We have, Marco Sorensen and Nikki Thiim winning GTE Pro. In LM GTE Am, the #57 Project 1 Porsche wins GTE Am for Ben Keating, Larry ten Voorde, and Jeroen Bleekemolen. LMP2, it's United Autosport, car #22, Filipe Albuquerque, Philip Hanson, and Paul di Resta.

Overall/LMP1: #7 Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez     Toyota TS050 Hybrid

             LMP2: #22 Albuquerque/Hanson/di Resta Oreca 07

             LM GTE Pro: #95 Sorensen/Thiim     Aston Martin Vantage AMR

             LM GTE Am: #57 Bleekemolen/Keating/ten Voorde   Porsche 911 RSR

Toyota wins the final LMP1 hybrid class race in Bahrain before the introduction of Hypercar comiong next season. The next FIA WEC race is the first of two in the United States, a late addition to the schedule. It is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the last weekend in February.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 7

Four fresh tires for Rebellion. Norman Nato will stay in the car. Ferrari has a driver change as well. Pit stop time for the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car as well. They are struggling to manage their tires. Aston Martin is to the fore in GTE Pro. With new tires, Bruno Senna is now at the controls of the #1 Rebellion. Richard Lietz is in the pit lane as well, taking a tear off off of the windscreen of the Porsche. The Porsche team has lost a little time with a recalcitrant wheel or air gun. A kerfuffle with said wheel. Ross Gunn moves to the lead in GTE Am. Driver talent and strategy are really coming to the fore, especially in LMP2. Track temperature has only dropped by six degrees Celsius, from 30 to 24. Mike Conway makes another scheduled stop for Toyota #7 handing the car to Kamui Kobayashi.

They have kept their advantage for the whole race so far. It was handed to them in the first ten seconds since the red lights went out to start the race. Romain Rusinov gets a final warning on abuse of track limits. Three turns on the road are being monitored. Alex Lynn leads by 26 seconds over the rest of the GTE Pro scrap. Nikki Thiim has been able to slide past his competition, particularly Davide Rigon and James Calado in the Ferrari's. Alex Lynn does have to stop to put him on a scheduled for the end of the race. They may split the stints up as we get closer to the end. The Aston Martin's will get championship points because of the race going absolutely pear shaped for Porsche.

It's a drag race between the Ferrari and the Aston, and the Ferrari moves ahead of the Aston for second in class. Miguel Molina sold the dummy to Nikki Thiim. You just can't buy the dummy if someone sells it to you, otherwise you will be passed. Always take the points. That wins the championship at the end of the season, as Aston Martin are in the lane with the factory car and poor old TF Sport are in the garage in GTE Am. That's not good. Ross Gunn leads over Jeroen Bleekemolen in LM GTE Am. In LM GTE Pro, AF Corse lead Alex Lynn in the #95 Aston Martin, and a spin, look, for Andrew Watson as he clatters Kei Cozzolino in the #70 MR Racing Ferrari.

More woe for Ginetta. Poor old Chris Dyson runs five laps and now he's in the garage. This appears to be another gear selection issue on the Ginetta. The sister Ginetta is still stricken at the side of the road. Bruno Senna is third in the #1 Rebellion, the car that won the race in Shanghai and started from pole here. Alex Lynn drops from the lead of the GTE Pro class to fourth in class. TF Sport has a fuel rail issue. The car is not getting the petrol it needs. Actually, it is the gearbox. Deary me. It could be both problems. Hopefully not. Ferrari, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Aston Martin. Team Project 1 have gone back to the lead in LM GTE Am. Larry ten Voorde and Jeroen Bleekemolen are driving the rest of the race.

Kamui Kobayashi has run 203 laps, 682 miles. Jean Eric Vergne takes over from Romain Rusinov in the #26 G-Drive LMP2 car. The #90 Aston Martin has lost nine laps to the GTE Am leaders due to the repairs. Jean Eric Vergne is back on track. United Autosport leads LMP2 by 17.8 seconds. Charlie Eastwood explains that the fuel rail and the transmission are both on the blink. He says, something's always going to go wrong at some point, with his heavy Irish brogue. TF Sport will lose at least 16 points in their gap for the points in GTE Am and Team Project 1 will leapfrog to the top of the tree in the points standings. The #33 High Class Racing LMP2 car pits. Anders Fjordbach is behind the wheel.

Correction. Mark Patterson is now in the car. Francesco Castellaci has finished his stint and it is Giancarlo Fisichella getting into the car. Thomas Flohr has finished his driving duties today. Paul di Resta is passed by Mike Conway. Toyota run 1-2 ahead of Rebellion, and the second LNT Ginetta, which may be being put back together and it could perhaps come back out. They are firing the motor, trying to see if the transmission works. It's got some drive left in it. But will it be enough? What you hear is the engine cut every time he pulls a lever. But, there's no clunk of the transmission. That is the fuel being cut, the reverse vroom vroom you hear. But the transmission isn't working. AF Corse #83 could be ahead in GTE Am by a single point if the results stand as they are when this race finishes.

A battle between Jean Eric Vergne and Mark Patterson, but Vergne is ahead of the Australian. The #86 Porsche is reported to the stewards for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner, but that penalty has just been reported. Have they got a little one sending them the report? We have not heard anything. Come on, sweetheart, you will have to go a little quicker. Pierre Ragues is struggling for pace in the #36 Alpine A470. G-Drive have not done the opening races of the season. They will be back in Europe, however, they will not be at either of the American races at Circuit of the Americas in Texas, or Sebring, in Florida, and they are invisible as far as points. They cannot score anything even if they run the races, and they will only appear again, in the final two races in Europe at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium in May and at the granddaddy of them all at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this coming June.

Again, this race is the longest event we have had so far. Toyota #8 in the lane, with just over an hour and 20 minutes left on the board. Kazuki Nakajima will take over from Brendon Hartley. United Autosport is in the lane and Filipe Albuquerque, the Portuguese driver will take over the car from Paul di Resta. A mechanic has hurt himself at United Autosport. He might be OK though. Still an hour and 20 minutes to go. The performance between the Michelin's and the Goodyear's, you don't see much difference in LMP2. United has maintained a good time gap over their competition. Nyck de Vries has taken over the Racing Team Nederland car.

Giedo van der Garde will be the next driver into the car and Frits van Eerd has completed his drive time. Gabriel Aubry has brought the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car to the lane from third in LMP2. Will Stevens is into the car, taking it home to the end of the race. Jota Sport in the lane from the LMP2 lead, Anthony Davidson at the wheel of it, and he'll take it to the end. He is using scrubbed tires that have chalk marks on them. The #22 car is back into the lead. How many tires did Jota Sport change? Drive through penalty for the #86 Porsche for an unsafe rejoin of the speedway. MR Racing has been hit a few times today.

Nyck Nielsen will drive a GTE Pro car for Ferrari in the rookie test, tomorrow. Once more, you will hear about that, early next week. The two Porsche's are further separated. Michael Christensen has an hour and a half to make up some time and gain another place. Richard Lietz has gone past Jeroen Bleekemolen and poor old Michael Christensen is caboose on that train. Alex Lynn fourth and Richard Lietz fifth in GTE Pro. Matteo Cairoli has been given a final warning for abusing track limits aboard the #56 Project 1 Porsche in GTE Am. Alessandro Pier Guidi locks up and runs wide, allowing Alex Lynn to move in closer. In GTE Am, 198 laps, 666 mils are complete.

We also see the #47 Cetillar car having issues with a blown tire. Roberto Lacorte is unhappy, as Giorgio Sernagiotto limps back to the pit lane. #47 in the pits for service. It's just one left rear tire onto the car. Alex Lynn has a run on the Ferrari and the Ferrari is fighting! Some argy bargy there, look. Lynn was trying hard to not get boxed in, and under braking, Alessandro Pier Guidi is pushing, pushing, pushing. Mark Patterson, meanwhile, is a pick. He is holding up Alex Lynn. But Patterson cannot just push the disappear button. Race car drivers are not spies, and cannot use a smokescreen. 222 laps, 806 miles in the bag.

Jota Sport may have put new tires on. But, this is contradicted. They had to be scrubbed tires with no shiny on them. Nyck de Vries will continue until Le Mans in 2020, but then, we don't know what he will do. Except for the fact, that he will race Formula E with Mercedes. WEC has set their new calendar, and now, the officials from Formula E are looking at it. We only have 52 weeks in a year.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 6

Left side tires for the Porsche in GTE Pro. Three wide in the GT classes! Yikes! Sebastien Buemi is upset about tires. He is struggling with the temperature window, and it seems like he feels as though he's driving on ice. Meantime, in LMP2, Job van Uitert is in a fair scrap with Andre Negrao in the Signatech car. Brendon Hartley is now at the wheel of the #8 Toyota. Phil Hanson is running quicker than Anthony Davidson in LMP2 right now. Pit stop time for the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche, the sole remaining Dempsey Proton entry in the race. Matteo Cairoli is now driving. The #97 Aston Martin pits from the GTE Pro lead as well. Two hours and 48 minutes left on the clock. Aston Martin will put a full set of fresh tires on the car. New boots all the way 'round the car as they have a squizz at the nose, and put some gaffer tape on the front of the car to hold a piece of bodywork. Alex Lynn has taken over from Maxime Martin.

Matteo Cairoli is not in the Dempsey Proton machine. He is in the Project 1 #56 car. #77 is another Italian driver, Ricardo Pera, sharing with Matt Campbell, the Australian, and Christian Ried from Germany. Darren Turner leads his fellow Brit, Ben Barker. Pit stop time for United Autosport in LMP2, the #22 car. Pit stop time as well for Racing Team Nederland. Nyck de Vries is into the car. Two more stints for the LMP2 cars with less than two hours and 45 minutes to go. Actually, we have just over the standard distance to go, of an IMSA WeatherTech Championship sprint race. Gabriel Aubry is now at the controls of the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca. Norman Nato pits the #1 Rebellion and stays in the car.

A full set of sticker tires for the #37 machine, and actually, they might be scrubbed. Half fresh, half scrubbed. Are tires unidirectional? Michelin does not like you using the tires in the opposite direction. The tire construction is designed to go in one direction. United Autosports have dominated LMP2 today. Mike Conway and Toyota continue to lead the motor race. If the #7 wins, they will take the world championship points lead, and also, the win lead for the season. The lead in the wrold championship will swing, for sure. The #6 Team LNT Ginetta pits. Mike Simpson out, Chris Dyson in. Penalty for the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche. There is some infraction. There could be a myriad of things.

Leader in the lane. Mike Conway is at the end of a double stint. Giedo van der Garde is the driver in the Racing Team Nederland Oreca. Mike Conway stays in the car. Aston Martin #98 in the lane for new tires. Darren Turner brought the car in and Ross Gunn is in for another stint. We have time to burn for Paul Dalla Lana. He still needs to go for another stint. Actually, we are not sure if it is Ross Gunn or Paul Dalla Lana. Ah. It is Ross in the car now. Toyota #8 is second, just about a lap down to the sister car. #7 has had the edge today in the Toyota camp. Toyota #7 sends it past the #8, lapping his team mate.

The two cars are very slightly different. The #7 has a little more energy and a slightly larger fuel restrictor. They are both on the same weight. There has been no success ballast added. If I were a driver, I would take an advantage over my team mates in the sister car. #7 is a lap up on the whole of the rest of the field. Brendon Hartley is second in the sister Toyota and third is Rebellion #1, Norman Nato still at the wheel of it. Aston Martin #95 is coming back into the picture. They have been 85% there for the last two races at least. If Nikki Thiim can'[t get closer to the Ferrari, he should save his tires and cool his brakes, and then, try to go for the pass in a few laps.

Your radiator and brake ducts at this time, are getting filled with clag from the track surface. You need to have track position though, in the last two hours. We have had a lot of green flag running. United Autosport is ready to pit. At some point in this race, we have run the four millionth lap in WEC modern history! Holy cow! Since 2012, we have been pounding the miles. 178 laps, 599 miles. We have gone 600 miles. Francesco Castelacci is in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari right now. He is ahead of Ross Gunn and Andrew Watson.

Mike Conway now starts the 182nd lap of this race, running in the lead. 21 minutes away from the traditional six hours. But, we have two hours left to go. 29 of 31 cars that started this race are still running. Only two retirements. A loss of power is reported on the Ginetta. Maybe the transmission misselected a gear and it sounded like someone dropped a spanner into the gearbox, much like poor old Nigel Mansell retiring on the final lap of the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix. The #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca is sixth in LMP2 in class.

Romain Rusinov is flying in the G-Drive car, still. He is quick, and consistently quick. He does wear his emotions on his sleeve, and that sometimes may hamper him to be able to win. Nikki Thiim will hand over to Marco Sorensen soon. Alex Lynn is eking tenths out over the two Porsche's which are caboose on the GTE Pro field as they have had a bad day at the office today. The GT drivers' world championship, sees the points for the factory Porsche drivers, being taken away, by an Am class, privateer Porsche. That's got to be embarrassing. Jeroen Bleekemolen has been struggling and co-driver Larry ten Voorde has been quicker.

Toyota #8 in the pit lane, for scheduled service. They need to manage their spot in second, and they know they can't contest the win with their sister car. Don't chuck it off the road. Keep going. Toyota #7 leads by a whole lap, by two minutes at least. Ross Gunn in the Aston Martin has run the fastest lap in GTE Am, 1:57.242, and he is faster than any of the factory drivers in GTE Pro. Ross Gunn is a factory driver, but in the Am class. Cool Racing are in the pit lane. Alexandre Coigny is out of the car. Not sure who will replace him for this next stint. United Autosport are preparing for a pit stop. Cetilar Racing in the lane as well. Giorgio Sernagiotto is out, and then, it will either be Roberto Lacorte or Andrea Belicchi in the car.

Belicchi might be getting into the car. Belicchi ran with Rebellion for many years. United Autosport is still in the lane. Could they have trouble. Paul di Resta is in the car, but has relinquished the LMP2 lead to Anthony Davidson. No tires for United Autosport as the LM GTE Pro lead battle hits the pit lane. It's Ferrari vs. Aston Martin, the hand span of a diminutive mechanic. Alex Lynn went by James Calado. Four tires for the Ferrari, scrubbed. Maybe it was a two tire call for Aston Martin. Jota Sport in the pit from the lead in LMP2. It'll be close between Jota and United. What did these teams do for tires?

Both stayed on their same sets of tires. So, Paul di Resta will lose time and Gabriel Aubry is the meat in the sandwich. Aubry needs to stop too. Rebellion #1 in the lane, too.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 5

The wheel nut did not seem to be right on the wheel for the #92 Porsche. Not good. Toyota lead LMP1. United Autosport lead LMP2. Aston Martin leads GTE Pro and Project 1 #57 Porsche leads GTE Am as we are into the second half of this motor race. The factory Porsche's are two laps adrift and their race is going pear shaped at the moment. Again, this race is the last one for the calendar year and the last one of the decade, before the second half of the season begins in 2020. The rain has passed. So, we have a dry track again here in the Arabian gulf. Ferrari #51 in the lane, but AF Corse dropped the car off the air jacks before the nut was secure on the left front wheel. That's not good. That has put the #71 sister AF Corse car into contention, and we now have Aston Martin 1-2 in GTE Pro, something we did not expect to see.

It's been quite the battle between Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in GTE Pro. A battle in GTE Am between Jonny Adam and Thomas Flohr. A change for fifth in GTE Am between TF Sport Aston Martin and AF Corse Ferrari. The #57 Team Project 1 Porsche continues to lead LM GTE Am. Larry ten Voorde leads both Mike Wainwright and Ross Gunn. If it happens to rain heavily and people want wet weather tires, they can use them, but the red, high intensity rain lights are now turned off. Jose Maria Lopez continues to lead this race, but, he is having to fight to keep the rear tires under the Toyota. #7 has led since coming out of the first turn at the start of this motor race.

Job van Uitert is going to take over from Romain Rusinov in the G-Drive Aurus LMP2 car. Aston Martin #97 is in the lane, leading GTE Pro. The car is splattered with specs of tire rubber in a big way. Romain Rusinov is pushing hard, defending from the #38 Jota Sport car of Ricardo Gonzalez. Ho-Pin Tung is catching up as well. Pit stop time for G-Drive, and a new set of boots on all four corners. Can Jota and Jackie Chan DC Racing come back and challenge G-Drive? The Goodyear shod cars are surely moving in on Filipe Albuquerque in the United Autosport car, leading in class. Porsche #91 leads the sister car #92 by a minute. Larry ten Voorde has the #57 Project 1 Porsche in the lead in GTE Am right now.

Aston Martin #95 leads GTE Pro. 135 laps, 454 miles complete. Toyota lead and run 1-2. #7 ahead of #8. Ferrari #71, Davide Rigon, gets pinged by the stewards with a drive through penalty for overtaking under a local yellow. AF Corse has shot themselves in the foot with one of their cars. Kenti Yamashita is back into the #33 High Class Racing LMP2 car. Yamashita is the junior driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Mark Patterson has done two single stints in that car so far. Pit stop time soon for Toyota #8 currently in the hands of Kazuki Nakajima. Thomas Laurent, in the #36 Signatech Alpine has been allowed to unlap himself.

Mark Patterson says he is running in the same bracket as Roberto Gonzalez and Frits van Eerd. Mark Patterson wants to be back at Le Mans this coming June. He's a real character. He is fit as a butcher's dog. Fit as a flea, and he loves his motor racing. We are set for more pit stop action. Mike Wainwright is in, and will hand over the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR to Ben Barker. The #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche is out of the motor race. The garage door is down, and it's game over. They have to get it back in one piece to head to the next two races in North America, here in the United States.

Whoa. Ho-Pin Tung goes off the road and back on in that double apex left-hander. Cool Racing is slow. They have trouble with that LMP2 car. Alexandre Coigny at the wheel of it. He's got a problem. He's twelve seconds down in the middle sector. Does he have a puncture? Is there a mechanical issue? Cool Racing is one of four teams that have come from European Le Mans into WEC. Cool, High Class, United Autosport, and Cetilar. Antonin Borga, the Swiss driver, is back into the car. Alexander Coigny is hard as nails. He had a fractured pelvis from a wreck at Silverstone in the European Le Mans Series, did not race at Silverstone, but, he clambered onto the podium to celebrate with the team when they won.

Giancarlo Fisichella is now in the #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari. Fisichella raced here in Formula 1. Fisichella also raced here for Ferrari in GTE Pro. Larry ten Voorde has done FIA WEC, Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup and Porsche Carrera Cup. The next round of LMP1 pit stops are coming up in a lap or so. Giancarlo Fisichella has run five Formula 1 races here. The LMP2 cars will pit soon again as well. Pit stop time now for the #70 MR Racing Ferrari. Olivier Beretta at the wheel. Big damage on the left front corner. Motoaki Ishikawa got into argy bargy with someone. Mike Simpson, is walking backwards in the lane. What's that goofiness about? Audible laughter from your commentator.

Jota and Jackie Chan DC Racing, are both in the lane. No tires for #37. Tires for #38. Ross Gunn brings the #98 Aston Martin to the lane, and maybe, Paul Dalla Lana will still need to drive. Yes. He has about a half hour of driving he needs to do. 20 laps. Driver change as Racing Team Nederland. Nyck de Vries, a man of average height, is in the car now. Rebellion pit from third spot, actually fourth. Jordan King in the LNT Ginetta has made up a place. Norman Nato at the wheel of the Rebellion. Mike Simpson at the controls of the Ginetta. Motoaki Ishikawa explains that he has done a lot of GT racing, but the damage caused to the car had to do with oversteer. He says, "today, Kei, Olivier, and me, are not so fast."

Toyota #7 has just pitted and the #5 Ginetta is now parked. Jordan King has stopped at the hairpin between turns eight and nine. He's pulled to the side, on the sand. He's got a problem. He needs power and the car just loses drive. The driveshaft or the input shaft is busted. The engine is still running, but he's got a box of nails, a box of neutrals. Game over for the #5. New tail for the #8 Toyota. They had the previous tail on the car, wobbling, as it was not properly fitted. It is a ways behind the sister car.

The boys at Ginetta are obviously worried about their car. The Ginetta is now behind the crash barriers but it could be game over. Job van Uitert slips past Ho-Pin Tung in LMP2. United Autosport is now fifth in the overall. Poor old Team LNT is out of this motor race. It looks like it's game over. Jordan King is back in the cockpit, talking to Ginetta boss Lawrence Tomlinson. Just as he lifted off and started to downshift, it sounds like either the gearbox, the input shaft, or the differential, busted itself. The sister Ginetta, Mike Simpson at the wheel of it, is guiding the sole remaining Ginetta. If one car has an unexpected failure, you look at the data coming from the sister car to search for potential trouble.

Game over for Jordan King. He and his team mates will be the second retirement of the race here in Bahrain. Aston Martin #95 is in the lead of LM GTE Pro once more. Davide Rigon is monstering the lead Aston at the moment. The Aston Martin is consistently delivering performance. #71 had a penalty, and it's been rescinded by the stewards. The Porsche and the Aston, and the Ferrari, there's not a whole lot between them. They are all extremely competitive. Anthony Davidson is up the road running second in LMP2. Excuse me, third in LMP2, the #38 Jota Sport Oreca. Marco Soresen's younger brother, Lassi Sorensen, will test an Aston Martin in the rookie test, tomorrow. Once again, you will hear about that in a news update, next week.

It is a two horse race in LM GTE Pro right now. The Ferrari gains on the Aston as he's compromised by an LMP2 car. Yikes! Mike Conway leads this motor race in the #7 Toyota by two minutes over the sister car. 156 laps, 525 miles down. Pit stop time for Aston Martin and Ferrari for fuel and for tires. No driver changes. Left side tires for both cars, a car length apart. Actually, a few seconds is the difference. The same two drivers in the same cars and the Ferrari is skating around already, look. The Aston Martin per the Balance of Performance, gets six more liters of fuel, but no adjustments in BoP have happened since the previous race in China, and here. Jeroen Bleekemolen replaces Larry ten Voorde in the #57 Project 1 Porsche. Darren Turner leads now in the #98 Aston Martin ahead of Mike Wainwright in the #86 Gulf Porsche.

Jeroen Bleekemolen is in the class lead, ahead of Darren Turner who is slower than his pursuer, Ben Barker. They are turning laps in the 1:58-1:59 range. We continue to watch the battle between Turner and Barker. They lap past the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche, Christian Ried at the wheel of it. Mike Conway is asked to switch with Sebastien Buemi so that Buemi can get on the same lap with the sister Toyota.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 4

Drive through penalty for disrespecting blue flags, for Johnny Mowlem in the Red River Ferrari. He was not opening the door wide enough for the cars that wanted to pass him. The #8 Toyota had damage from a scrum with one of the GT cars I believe. That damage has a knock on effect, for sure. Toyota #7 leads it's sister car, ahead of both of the Ginetta's. Alex Lynn will hand over the #97 Aston to Maxime Martin as the Ginetta also pits. Jordan King was in the wrong pit stall. Aim for the stick. Nope. Wrong stick, mate. Larry ten Voorde is now at the controls of the #57 Project 1 Porsche. We watch a replay of the pass between Porsche and Aston Martin, or the attempted pass rather, in GTE Pro. Speaking of GTE Pro, the scrap between Richard Lietz and Miguel Molina is under review by the stewards.

Toyota Gazoo Racing still run 1-2. It took less time than they expected for this to occur. Charlie Robertson admits the accident between he and Bruno Senna was a mea culpa on his part. Toyota #7 in the lane, look. It is scheduled service. United Autosports still leads LMP2 ahead of G-Drive, who have solved their tire problems, and Romain Rusinov is at the controls at the moment. New tires on the left and scrubbed tires on the right for the #7 machine. The sister car is in the lane as well. Brendon Hartly brings it in, and he will change over, to Kazuki Nakajima. Nakajima is taking his first stint. Ferrari #71 is also in pit lane for service.

Jose Maria Lopez is now in the #7 Toyota. "Pechito" is taking his first stint as well. Porsche #91 is in pit lane now as well. Richard Lietz will stay in th car for a double stint. They are going to only change left side tires at Porsche. All GTE Pro teams, and Am teams, are stretching their tire usage. A spot of bother for Aston Martin as Larry ten Voorde passes Paul Dalla Lana. Mike Wainwright is now in the lead in GTE Am. Motoaki Ishikawa is going to be involved in this scrum after coming out of the pit lane. Dalla Lana is going to gain an advantage, and will go inside ten Voorde like a rat up a drainpipe if ten Voorde makes a mistake.

For the GTE Am lead, Larry ten Voorde passes Mike Wainwright. Paul Dalla Lana is still in it. He is still the shark, chasing after two minnows. This is the first stint for as pro driver in the #57 car. The Goodyear tires have not gone as far off as was expected. Toyota continues running 1-2. Jose Maria Lopez leads this motor race. 38 points on offer, to the winner of this race, because of the longer distance. Points and a half on offer, here in Bahrain, as they will be at Sebring later in the season. The GTE Pro battle continues to simmer. A spin, look, for Gustavo Menezes at turn one. They are sixth in the overall at the moment.

He goes in the corner, and loses traction, fortunately not hitting anything. Back in GTE Pro, the battle is still hot and heavy. Kevin Estre continues to apply the blowtorch to Alessandro Pier Guidi. We have investigations by the stewards into both Ferrari's and both Porsche's in GTE Pro. Yikes! A whole mess of cars, look, as this scrap for GTE Pro is still raging! Wow! The Am Porsche, the Dempsey Proton Porsche just barely made it past the GTE Pro machines without crashing! Egad! Khaled al Qubaisi knew something was behind him, but he made it through without incident. Good onya' chap.

The Ferrari is mere millimeters away from the Porsche and the grunt of the flat six will reel in the Ferrari, maybe. The Ferrari has turbo power, the Porsche, is atmospheric. Filipe Albuquerque has lapped up to the fourth place car in the LMP2 division. They are having a great run, and to contrast, TDS and G-Drive, are having some real pear shaped races right now. Someone was coming into the pits, the Red River Sport Ferrari, but he didn't come in. Now, Paul Dalla Lana has done his full drive time and the #98 Aston Martin is in the lane for service. Not clear if it is Darren Turner or Ross Gunn who is getting into the car.

Kevin Estre is worrid about his tires and the engineer understands how hard it is. It is not hot outside. But, it is physically difficult and he has to preserve the tires, instead of pressing them to get the full performance. If you can't pass, look after the tires. Kevin Estre has in fact gone by Alessandro Pier Guidi. He had the opportunity with Bon Grimes in the Red River Sport car. Francois Perrodo is the next car on the shopping list of the GTE Pro blokes, and they do make the pass cleanly.

Porsche still lead from Ferrari and Aston Martin. The tire clag offline is getting worse as we have just over four hours to go. Jackie Chan DC Racing and Jota Sport are in the lane. Gabriel Aubry and Antonio Felix Da Costa are at the wheel of those respective automobiles. Da Costa is double stinting, and both of those guys are behind Filipe Albuquerque. G-Drive have recovered from earlier mishaps. Romain Rusinov is in the car. Nyck de Vries is way behind in the Racing Team Nederland car. Racing Team Nederland have had a good season, but they can't afford to give up any points. Great performances in individual races by many of the LMP2 teams. That trend continues. That is why this race is a cracker at the moment. A real sizzler.

The LMP2 teams have to deliver, and especially Racing Team Nederland. We have a spin, and the #70 car is it. Motoaki Ishikawa at the controls of the MR Racing machine. He locks the brakes and rotates the car. He was trying to not run into the back of the Racing Team Nederland machine, and Ishikawa is dinged by the stewards as well for ignoring blue flags. Porsche #92 is in the lead of GTE Pro. There is rain at turn 14 on the circuit. The track is now declared wet. The track is not soaking, but you can go ahead and use wet weather tires. There are tiny spots of rain, and it could indeed get heavier.

Race Director Edoardo Freitas has indeed made the announcement. If we get a deluge, this will really open the floodgates, no pun intended. Porsche #92 in the lane. He was very slow coming into the pit box. The dollies are out for the Porsche and poor old Kevin Estre goes into the garage. They might need a brake change on that car after the spin. They are changing tires, but they are going for brakes. There is something wrong on the left rear. It is a standard procedure to change brakes in the Spa 24 Hours, for the GT3 cars that have different brakes. However, in GTE, brakes are just not something to worry about. We saw the brake changes for the GT3 cars at Kyalami a few weeks back in the 9 hour race there.

We see fireworks for Bahrain National Day in the night sky. The Toyota tried to pass an LMP2 car but can't. Gabriel Aubry tries to pass by one of his fellow LMP2 competitors. Aubry slides the car as the tires are not hooked up. Game over for the #92 Porsche? No. They just need to continue making repairs. Michael Christensen stays in the car. Leave the floor alone. They will put new tires on, but will be three laps behind, and they need to salvage points for the World Championship. They are going to be knocked out of the points game in GTE Pro.

Khaled al Qubaisi loops and slams the #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche into the wall at the last corner on track and we will have a Full Course Yellow. He spins, and hits a sign. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Debris on driver's left at turn 14. Clean up debris, and replace bollards. It's housekeeping time here in Bahrain. The #88 car needs replacement of the front clip, and the floor. Thos are severe skid marks, as the marshals pick up the debris. Cooling and wiring, and more, will be replaced.

Under Full Course Yellow, you are limited on the road to 80 kilometers an hour, 50 miles an hour. Toyota #8 in the pit lane, and there were a couple cars that got caught out in the lane, who were due to be in when the Full Course Yellow came out. These are early stops for Toyota Gazoo Racing and for United Autosport. We are now 30 seconds away from going back to green flag racing. Driver change for #6. Mike Simpson is back into the car, and we are now back to green. Wherever you are on the track, you hit the gas pedal, immediately. Gianmaria Bruni believes he may have a puncture, but he is told that there is low pressure. Now, he has something broken on the car. Gianmaria Bruni says, "something is broken".

There might be a damaged damper in the suspension. It's down on the right front. The wheel is busted. Both cars have had trouble within laps of each other. What a disaster! They are getting a raw deal here, lads. The wheel is destroyed. The nut was sheared off with no retaining pins on it. That was a brand new set of tires, maybe. There's a loose exhaust or a loose clip for the floor of the car, the undertray or the diffuser. Porsche's race has fallen through the floor. No pun intended. They've resorted to the Birmingham screwdriver (the hammer), for fixing it, which means there is something broken on the car. Stay off the curbs. Don't cut over the sausage curb with the sharp edge on the inside.

Stay on the gray stuff, son. That's what it's there for. NormanNato puts Rebellion back into fourth, taking over from the #6 Ginetta. Porsche #91 is back on the pit lane. One of the horizontal strakes may be broken. There is a piece of something dangling off the back of the car as we look in replay. This is the newly redesigned 911 RSR. The fireworks and festivities for National Bahrain Day continues. Toyota runs 1-2. United Autosports leads LMP2.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 3

Gustavo Menezes is beginning to force his way forward on Kamui Kobayashi. Alex Lynn is being passed by LMP2 cars. GT cars, when well driven, are very hard to get by, because speed differentials are totally nonexistent. That's not like how sports car racing used to be. Next year, it will be a very interesting to see the speed similarities between the LMP2 cars and the new LMP1 hyper cars. High Class has older tires than Jota. It is not as dark here as it is at Le Mans for instance. But we will have a tough time, maybe identifying the queues of cars. Pit stop time for Aston Martin #97. That's the Pro class car and also, the #51 Ferrari is in the lane and so is #71. Alessandro Pier Guidi replaces James Calado and Miguel Molina replaces Davide Rigon. No strategy split for Maranello. Left side tires only on the Aston Martin. We still have six hours to go.

You have to give up a tad now, and have more in the locker for later on. Matteo Cairoli says the #56 car is retired. The exhaust system has a hole in it. That's a shame. Cairoli and his team mates may get back out but they are out of contention. The Italian shares with Egidio Perfetti, the Norwegian based Italian and David Heinemeier Hanson. Toyota leads overall. Aston Martin leads GTE Pro. Team Project 1, and the #57 Porsche with Ben Keating, leads GTE Am. In LMP2, it is United Autosport leading. Ferrari #51 is off the road and back on again. Pit stop time, look, for the #1 Rebellion. After two hours and ten minutes, the top five cars are all LMP1 cars for the first time.

Fuel only for Rebellion. Rebellion will team up with Peugeot Sport in Hypercar, shooting for a debut in 2022 or so. In 2023, it is the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and so Peugeot really wants that even though they have won Le Mans, three times, in 1992, '93, and 2009. Toyota now run 1-2, #7 ahead of #8. Nothing stays constant in the race and the track is essentially a living creature. Cool Racing, car #42 is in the pit lane. This is another short run for them it seems. No. Actually, it is a full fuel run. Tires are ready. This is the Borga/Coigny/Lapierre car as the #47 is also in the lane. Pierre Ragues stays in the Signatech Alpine. Nicolas Lapierre is in the Cool Racing car as well.

In GTE Pro, it is a battle for the class lead. Driver change for Cetilar in LMP2. Michael Christensen is chasing down Nicki Thiim. Miguel Molina has set a new GTE Pro lap record, sixth in class. Michael Christensen slides, leaving black marks on the road. Christensen wants to give it more welly to pass the Aston Martin. The Porsche has better tire life, and is quick, but he cannot easily overtake the Aston Martin right now. Salih Yoluc is ahead of Adrian de Leener in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche. Adrian de Leener does pass Salih Yoluc. Toyota will be into the pit lane, next time by.

All Aston Martin drivers are on the pit wall right now, watching. There is this great battle between Porsche and Aston Martin. Kamui Kobayashi is on schedule for his fourth stop of the race. A real hip check there, in the GTE Am class between the #98 Aston Martin and the #70 MR Racing Ferrari. Paul Dalla Lana, the Canadian, and Kei Cozzolino. Ben Keating will do a third consecutive stint. He is doing the iron man stint. Again, Toyota #8 has made a pit stop. The GTE Pro lead battle continues. It is still Aston Martin vs. Porsche.

Aston is playing the long game and they are first and fourth in class as Alessandro Pier Guidi is back in the #51 Ferrari. Switching drivers every stint, is not logical to some people, but, it is logical to other teams. Red River Sport gets passed by Jean Eric Vergne and G-Drive. Gearbox trouble for the #1 Rebellion. It will need to be serviced in the garage. Something happened to the car in that lap one collision. The #5 Ginetta is still having issues as well. Rebellion is having issues with the shifting actuator or with the gears in the transmission. Andrew Watson is second in GTE Am, running behind Paul Dalla Lana in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR that he shares with Ben Barker and Mike Wainwright.

Michael Christensen wants to get by Nicki Thiim, and here comes the Ferrari as well, look. The GTE-Pro scrap is split, look, by the #8 Toyota. Porsche wanted to be in clear air, to keep the tire right onn the money. Gustavo Menezes is still in the garage with the gear selectionn trouble, running 11th in the overall right now. The #56 Porsche is still in the garage, and the #1 Rebellion is now back into the race, two or three laps behind. They are three laps down. Four of six LM GTE Pro cars are running together in a pack right now. Alessandro Pier Guidi, he will make a move, and not wait for it. Alex Lynn is crawling all over him. Ferrari wants a win. They are appealing their ride height infraction that cost them a win in Shanghai last time out. They might get it back. We'll see.

Cetillar Racing pits. But, Andrea Belicchi has been dinged by the stewards for a tech infraction on the pit stop. In again, Racing Team Nederland. Frits van Eerd is back into the car, replacing Nyck de Vries. Nicki Thiim is leading GTE Pro, and we see damage on the corner of Pier Guidi's Ferrari. Alex Lynn is pushing, pushing, pushing, while Kamui Kobayashi continues to lead overall. Romain Rusinov is now in to the #26 G-Drive Aurus. Rusinov takes over from Jean Eric Vergne. Richard Lietz is coming, fast. Thiim continues to lead GTE Pro, buit it looks like Pier Guidi has taken over, and he has. Thiim has been really pressing hard on older tires.

Chris Dyson has completed a double stint, and the #6 Ginetta will have a new driver. Jordan King has come back up through the LMP2 field in the #5 sister car. Guy Smith is now at the controls of the Ginetta. They have new tires on the car as well. New tires on the left side and scrubbed tires on the right. Oooh! Alex Lynn tags the Racing Team Nederland car of Frits van Eerd! That was close. van Eerd spins and continues. Lynn will get pinged for that one. He hits the brakes but nudges van Eerd out of the way. He wanted to avoid running into the LMP2 car, but no.

Jota Sport was also caught up, almost, in the GTE Pro battle. Aston is applying the blowtorch to Porsche, look. We have had one safety car right at the beginning of the motor race. Francois Perrodo is back into the #83 Ferrari. Andrew Watson has now taken the lead in GTE Am in the #86 Porsche. Mike Wainwright has done one stint. But, he needs a double stint. Ben Keating, however, does not need to do any more driving once he gets out of the #57 car. After a triple stint, he could pit as the class leader. Interesting. He is the iron man at the moment. Paul Dalla Lana, Darren Turner, and Ross Gunn, in the #98 Aston Martin are in the clear because another car has not cannoned into them on lap one.

Meanwhile, the Rebellion passes the Toyota. Gustavo Menezes is trying to get laps back. Dalla Lana and Thiim are only a tenth or so apart as Thiim's tires are busted. Cool Racing are in the lane for scheduled service as the LMP2 cars are into their fourth sets of pit stops. Five more hours left in this motor race. We have a long, long way to go yet. Toyota run 1-2 in LMP1. United Autosports lead LMP2. AF Corse, Porsche, and Aston Martin are 1-2-3 in GTE Pro. Pit stop time for LMP2 cars. Trying to sort out driver rotations. Can't figure out who is where, really, although Andrew Watson, he is flying in GTE Am as Ben Keating is storming back, in second place in GTE Am at the moment. Andrew Watson, again, is flying right now.

Nicki Thiim is in the pits and hands the #95 "Dane Train" Aston Martin Vantage, to Marco Sorenson. Alex Lynn is fending off the challenge from Miguel Molina and Richard Lietz, in a Ferrari and a Porsche. Molina still wants it. Lietz will not give it to him. Molina is the quicker of the two right now. He has tires though that will be trashed because of the clag, the rubber and dust, on the outside of the circuit. Miguel Molina is drifting like crazy. He is puttinng himself at risk for unnecessary argy bargy and a spin. Plus, his rooted tires will be worse off. Aston Martin #98 is back on track, Paul Dalla Lana has changed over to another driver.

Kamui Kobayashi, and Brendon Hartley run 1-2. Jordan King and Guy Smith run third and fourth on the road. Ferrari has the traction out of turn tenn, and might pass the Aston Martin fairly soon. They have old tires on one side of the car and fresh on the other side. They need new boots on all four corners. Ben Keating has finally pitted and handed the car to Larry ten Voorde, the Dutchman. Meanwhile, the battle continues between the Porsche and the Aston.

Bahrain 8 Hours: Hour 2

Its a battle between Negrao and Yamashita, look, for position. Signatech Alpine and Negrao decide discretion is the better part of valor. Porsche #92 in the lane for tires. Kevin Estre is back into the race. A driver change it looks like, but not sure if it is for Porsche or Ferrari. Mike Simpson is being caught by Bruno Senna. Job van Uitert is passed by the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car. Charlie Robertson's race is going pear shaped with a drive through penalty for the contact with the MR Racing Ferrari. More pit action. No driver change at Porsche for the #91 car. The Ginetta is being harried at the moment. The fuel flow meters that regulate the allowance of fuel, are attached to the side of the car. The systems can sometimes get fowled and don't send out the right signals so the marshals can monitor them.

Bruno Senna is trying hard to get around Mike Simpson. Senna has the grip. Simpson is having a tough old time of it right now with his tires which could be knackered. Simpson just cannot get the power down. Norman Nato does go by. The AER engine is running so cool, they will need a thermostat on it. It is easier to shrink rather than enlarge a radiator. But an oversized radiator just creates drag. Christian Ried is in the lane from the LM GTE Am lead. There's nose damage on the car as well. The battle for third continues between Mike Simpson and Bruno Senna. Charlie Robertson served a drive throuhgh penalty for that argy bargy we saw with the #70 Ferrari. GT cars need the same track that the LMP cars do. It's always been that way in sports car racing. Leave enough room if you are in a quicker car.

Job van Uitert pits for fresh tires. Michael Christensen has taken over the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 from Kevin Estre. Split the difference between your team strategy. Jean Eric Vergne takes over at G-Drive from Job van Uitert as Giedo van der Garde pits from sixth in class. van der Garde was dropping like a stone. We have double waved yellows for debris on the road in one corner. Only a local yellow. Jota Sport has an extra nose ready if needed. Frits van Eerd is now in the Racing Team Nederland car. van Eerd is an Am, Bronze driver, and needs a minimum of two hours behind the wheel in this motor race. Jota vs. High Class in LMP2. Both teams on Goodyear tires. Anthony Davidson is running very well, a former LMP1 champion, with Toyota.

Davidson is a very competitive driver, though. Andre Negrao holds down third in class right now. Signatech Alpine will have to conserve their tires with less sets than everyone else has. Ooh. Ho Pin Tung has to let Anthony Davidson by as we are an hour and 15 minutes into the action. There's a long way to go yet in this final race of a calendar year and of the current decade. Today, we are doing as many hours of racing as Silverstone and Shanghai combined. Traffic ahead for Sebastien Buemi and also for Mike Simpson. Simpson and Buemi go through the gap created by the LM GTE Am cars as Nicklas Nielsen has taken over the #83 AF Corse Ferrari.

Sebastien Buemi is monstering Mike Simpson at the moment. Simpson is doing a wonderful job with tire management right now. Buemi runs past Simpson, and poor old Simpson outbrakes himself. He had the acceleration and the traction. Alexandre Coigny is also being hounded by Andrea Belicchi in the Cetilar Dallara. From the outside, they look like they are racing on a cobblestone street instead of a smooth track. Harrison Newey drove the car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the end of the "super season" last year, and the son of legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, said the Dallara drives like a "pogo stick". The tire compound choices are soft and medium. Mike Simpson is in the lane, and handing the car over to Chris Dyson, racing his first WEC race in the Ginetta. His last WEC race was in 2013 at Silverstone in the Greaves Motorsport Zytek.

Chris Dyson races in the Trans Am championship here in the states. Mike Conway runs 49 seconds ahead of Bruno Senna. Alexandre Coigny is fending off the challenge from Racing Team Nederland. Coigny, the Swiss driver. Pit stop time for the #38 Jota Sport car. Anthony Davidson stays in the car. Roberto Gonzalez is not ready to get into the car just yet. Paul di Resta pits from the LMP2 lead. Giedo van der Garde passes Alexandre Coigny. In the lane now is Kenta Yamashita in the #33 High Class Racing Oreca. Yamashita sharing with Anders Fjordbach and Mark Patterson. Anthony Davidson and Kenta Yamashita are the quickest LMP2 drivers right now. Phil Hanson is now into the #22 United Autosport car as we watch a parachutist.

Bruno Senna now into the lane from second overall. Norman Nato will take over. Check that. Gustavo Menezes is next in. Never second guess your first guess with a driver change. An hour and a half into the race, with six and a half left to go. New tires for Gustavo Menezes. We see a battle in LM GTE Am. Ben Keating leads over Ross Gunn and Egidio Perfetti ahead of Charlie Eastwood. So, it's a stack, a sandwich of Porsche and Aston Martin in the Am class. We see a fly by, by the Bahrain Air Force and their F16s. Charlie Eastwood had a slow qualifying effort, but moves up a place on the Project 1 Porsche. Nyck Nielsen tries to find his way past Ben Barker in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche, which of course, is not in the legendary orange and blue Gulf colors.

Cetilar in the lane, as the #47 does another driver change. Tomorrow is the Bahrain rookie test and you will hear more about that, in post-race highlights, maybe tomorrow, maybe on Monday. Toyota has made a pit stop. Not sure which car it was. Ah. It was #8. Gustavo Menezes has done the fastest lap for the #1 Rebellion. 1:45.5 and 1:45.4. Rebellion had a hub seal break which caused a brake fire, and blew the hub and the bearings out, and this was in practice. New tires and a driver change for the #8 Toyota. Kamui Kobayashi is now in the #7 car and Brendon Hartley is in the #8. Nick Nielsen, is in the lane, and he has been penalized for having a temperature in the cockpit that was higher than regulations state. A black and orange flag, a meatball, for excessive temperature in the cockpit.

The air temp is 23 degrees Celsius, and it has to be no hotter than 30 Celsius. It is cooler in Bahrain than normal. Some of the races have been as bad as 50 degrees Celsius, but not today. One of the Am class Ferrari's is in the lane. Jean Eric Vergne may be falling into the clutches of Phil Hanson in LMP2. The five second penalty for the #77 Porsche and the #62 Ferrari, actually for the Porsche, has been cancelled. No further action. Also, the #83 Ferrari, has had the repair done and Emmanuel Collard is the new driver. Ginetta had major brake overheating issues in Shanghai last time out. They have a new cooling system for this race.

Jordan King, on new tires in the #5 Ginetta has been up and down the order. Bahrain is the circuit that is toughest on brakes through the season. The average number of safety cars is low. The fact this race is longer than usual, it does not matter. History is on the side of few safety cars and lots of green flag running. No further action on the racing incident for Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari he shares with James Calado. In GTE Am, Ben Keating is still being harried by Ross Gunn. It is Porsche vs. Aston Martin, Porsche #57 and Aston Martin #98. We are in thr witching hour, approaching darkness. The lights illuminate the circuit. We have six hours to go by 5PM in about thirteen minutes, but it will be pitch black.

Watch how you are driving for the rest of this race as we have the full length of a normal WEC race still left. Ben Keating and Ross Gunn will have passed the minimum drive time. So, they need to put in their other two drivers on the team. Only two gentleman drivers, Ben Keating, and Egidio Perfetti both for Project 1. Thomas Flohr is also in the #54 Ferrari. But, Perfetti has handed over to the Dane, David Heinemeier-Hanson, the racing businessman. Ben Keating continues to lead LM GTE Am and Ross Gunn is closing, fast. Egidio Perfetti will still need 25 minutes to round out his stint. Watch the race strategy. Minimum for a Bronze rated driver in GTE Am is two hours and 20 minutes. Look for a very long safety car if that becomes an opportunity.

Porsche, in GT Le Mans, the #91 changed left side tires while the #92 sister car changed all four tires. They are checking tire wear between those two different strategies. We spoke of the collision between Red River Sport and Dempsey Proton. The five second penalty has been handed to Red River Sport, somehow. Bonamy Grimes was trying to pass Christian Ried, and there was argy bargy, someplace. Aurus #26 is in the lane. Ross Gunn has continued to battle with Ben Keating. Jean Eric Vergne continues his driving stint in the G-Drive Aurus. You need spatial awareness in all racing, and Vergne can do that well being a Formula E driver. He can apply his skills from Formula E, and energy management, to this endurance race in the WEC, here in Bahrain.

Kamui Kobayashi leads by 42 seconds, but he is having issues with trying to pass the Ginetta, Chris Dyson at the wheel of it. Gustavo Menezes is eating away a gap, catching the top two in LMP1. Racing Team Nederland have also had tire issues. TDS Racing has not got a handle on their tire strategy for either Racing Team Nederland or G-Drive. Just keep driving. The driver is trying to manage his tires. Sure. He has a limited view. The engineer gives him an idea of what is going on but also has to be a psychologist and say, "don't worry. Just keep running your race." As the rubber goes down on the track, the grip goes up. Gianmaria Bruni is under three tenths of a second slower than Aston Martin. Trouble too, look, for David Heinemeier Hanson as the Project 1 Porsche is now back in the garage for repairs.

They have an overheating issue on the Porsche and a loose component at the front of the car. There's a dive plane that has come off one of the cars and is track debris, and the #6 Ginetta of Chris Dyson has spun off the road. The grip difference between on and off line, is going to get worse. Stay on the line, as we are now at nighttime.