Welcome, to the Bahrain desert. It is time, for round four of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship, in the first of two eight hour events of the season. It is race four in the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain. It is the final race of the 2019 part of the year, and the last FIA WEC race of the decade. There was rain during the week. Rain will be forecast for tomorrow. But it is warm and dry for tonight's motor race which will run from day into night in the Arabian gulf. Zak Brown from McLaren is here, as boss for United Autosport. This track is 5.4 kilometers, and is very tough on tires and on brakes. Tire life and brake life are at a premium. The last time the race was run was in 2017.
This race will be a green flag event. There are few yellow flags, and that was true the last time the FIA WEC raced here back in 2017. Peugeot have announced they will team with Rebellion in the new Hypercar class. Toyota has announced their intent to also race in Hypercar. G-Drive is here for the first time this year, and they will also race at Spa as a warmup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, later in the season, in May 2020. Aston Martin struggled in qualifying in GTE Pro and Am. Qualifying is a whole different kettle of fish. The tire allocation just isn't enough. This is a unique race distance. Again, watch for the brakes as well. This weekend leads to a national holiday in Bahrain. Bagpipe bands play as the festivities, the pre-race ceremonies are underway.
Team Project 1 has pole in GTE-Am with the #57 Porsche in the hands of Larry Ten Voorde, Ben Keating, and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Lena Gade, winning Audi Sport Engineer, is now an Engineering Director in the U.K. and she has been nominated head of the FIA's GT commission. Ferrari were third and fourth in LM GTE Pro last time out, and they along with Aston Martin have qualified well here, but the two Porsche's are again on the front row, with Kevin Estre starting #92 and Gianmaria Bruni starting #91. All kinds of points factors are in it this year. This is a totally different challenge than some of the shorter four and six hour events we have had in the WEC so far this season.
When we get to the 24 Hours of Le Mans later in the year, Mark Patterson will be the oldest driver in history to have been a full-season active FIA WEC race driver. Patterson celebrates his 68th birthday, on Monday. G-Drive is making their first WEC start of 2019-2020. Mike Simpson, Guy Smith, and Chris Dyson are in the #6 Ginetta. Chris Dyson is in his first race. The 2020-2021 calendar for the FIA WEC has been announced and you saw that earlier this week. We add two races of great history, along with what we already have, in Monza in Italy and Kyalami in South Africa. The calendar was announced yesterday. Check it out on this blog, or elsewhere online.
The two Toyota's are feeling the pinch of success ballast. The pinch, and hopefully not the pain. Charlie Robertson, Ben Hanley, and Jordan King, have the second spot in the #5 Ginetta. On the pole will be the #1 Rebellion. Bruno Senna will start the car, sharing with Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato. Rebellion will lead the field. The weather is slightly overcast, and warm. Paul Di Resta has pole in LMP2 for United Autosport. It is a front row lockout for Porsche in LM GTE Pro ahead of Ferrari. Ben Keating has pole for the LM GTE Am. All the gentleman drivers starting in the LM GTE Am class.
Today is not hot, and it won't rain. But we shall race, mostly in darkness. The track here in Bahrain will have visibility issues, but, the darkness won't be an issue. It is darker at Le Mans, as the command is given, "ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!" It is time now, as Arif Rahimi, waves the green flag, the Chairman of the Board of Directors on the Bahrain circuit. The warmup lap will be short. Signatech Alpine has one fewer set of tires than anyone else. They were flatspotted by a spin in qualifying and are in a major hole. What will the LM GTE Pro tire strategy be? We'll find out as the race goes on.
Bruno Senna is clear that he has new brakes as we get ready to roll. Rebellion CEO Khalim Bahoudra looks on. It is time to go. The cars need to be in two by two Noah's ark formation. Safety car in to the lane. Red lights out. Go! Who will lead? It's Bruno Senna poking his noise and both the Rebellion and the Ginetta spin! The #37 is around too as Toyota #7 leads this race. Everyone is moving again. Fewrrari lads Porsche in LM GTE Pro. Both Ginetta's are back in line, and here comes Job van Uitert, trying to pass Paul di Resta.
Charlie Robertson overcooked it under braking, and tipped Bruno Senna into a spin. The Ferrari is ahead of the Porsche and we have a safety car on the road, for debris. Rebellion got snookered, and LNT are in the pound seats at the moment. Bruno Senna is very upset about the start. He was leading from the start, and so, it makes sense he's angry. Toyota #8 was tagged and ran wide, too. The Toyota pulled over to the pit wall to let the team see if there's damage. They will change the rear tail at the first pit stop, and Charlie Robertson has damage from the argy bargy as well. The Rebellion team can't believe it.
That was an opportunistic move and it just did not work. Lawrence Tomlinson will also be unhappy. We said this race never has safety cars. Yeah right! That's not true now. Khaled al Qubaisi also got caught out at the rear of the pack. There was another kerfuffle at turn four that we didn't see. Watch out for the rear end on the Ginetta. The car has loose, insecure bodywork. The moment the pit lane opens, they will have to dive in and make repairs. Rebellion won their first ever official race in China last month. The tire temperatures are plummeting now. Norman Nato for Rebellion says that the team needs to look at the car and see if there is damage. Mike Conway leads the motor race in Toyota #7. Toyota has track position, very early.
Toyota has had their original plan stymied. But, they will regroup. The #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car was off the road in that last shemozzle. Mike Conway is your leader. The battle picks up in GTE Pro. Marco Sorensen wants by Kevin Estre. Toyota #8 is up to ninth, but has damage. Sebastien Buemi at the wheel of it, is being monstered by former team mate Anthony Davidson. Buemi lunges past Davidson in corner nine. Buemi says, "I have no power!" But, from the running mode, it has to come back to race mode from safety car mode. Press a button in the cockpit, on the dash, and see if that works. He had no hybrid boost. Sebastien, you need to bring some more power. A lockup for Alpine. Don't lock the brakes with a set of tires already having been busted.
Mike Simpson is flying through the esses, making up a spot, while his team mate Charlie Robertson has lost a lap or two having damage repaired. The tail, and one of the wheel arches were damaged. Toyota leads United Autosport and Ginetta as we see Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin battle for the class lead in LM GTE Pro. Fifteen minutes into the race and loads of action already. Mike Simpson is still chasing Paul di Resta. Ferrari will be penalized maybe for passing under yellow, or for pushing one of the Porsche's aside. Double yellows at turnj one as Paul Dalla Lana's Aston Martin goes off the road and rejoins. We are green again. Toyota leads Ginetta. Mike Conway has 21 seconds over Bruno Senna. Senna is catching up. Rebellion needs good strategy if they want to win.
Ben Keating is being eaten up by Maxime Martin in the #97 Aston Martin. The Am class cars are the same spec of car as the GTE Pro cars. The driver's skill is the only difference. No further action between the Rebellion and the Ginetta from the stewards. Bruno Senna is making up ground, and the team says everything is OK. Senna says his handling is slightly off, and yes, he did lock up at turns nine and ten, going through two left hand hairpins, that are downhill. Both Project 1 cars are leadfing each other. Ben Keating over Egidio Perfetti. Paul Dalla Lana is third followed by Francois Perrodo, Salih Yoluc, and Bon Grimes, in LM GTE Am. Sebastien Buemi passes Paul di Resta, as Buemi breaks the tow. di Resta is flying, but Buemi holds on even after running out of hybrid boost.
Sebastien Buemi has gone to third overall. Rebellion now runs eighth, and the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car is in the last car in the train in LMP2. Twelve seconds covers the field in LM GTE Pro. Mike Conway leads for Toyota in car #7. Mike Simpson and Sebastien Buemi have set their fastest lap of the race thus far, and are a tad slower than Mike Conway at the moment. Alessandro Pier Guidi is in the lead on GTE Pro, but he is under investigation for contact with the Porsche, the #91 with Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel of it. Thomas Flohr spins the Ferrari in front of the Toyota. That's the #54 AF Corse Ferrari. Cool Racing vs. Racing Team Nederland, and #29 is ahead of #42 in LMP2. United Autosport and Paul di Resta lead LMP2 and he runs fourth in the overall right now.
Roberto Lacorte at the tail of the field in LMP2 sets fastest lap in the class. We have a replay of the Signatech Alpine running wide at turn nine. There's loads of sand out on the outside of the road. The tires are soft, like chewing gum, and so, the sand does them no good at all. The LMP1 cars will split the eight hours of this race into ten stints as far as tires. No worries about the #51 and #91 GTE Pro cars. No further action on start/safety car investigations as Andre Negrao and Nico Lapierre are scrapping. Lapierre gets snookered there and Negrao in the Alpine pushes the bye bye button as the jig was up for Negrao there, look.
Negrao had a wonderful line for that move he made also on the Red River Sport Ferrari. That car being shared by Bonamy Grimes, Charles Hollings, and Johnny Mowlem. Team LNT got caught out by a pit lane light. They will have to serve a penalty. Team LNT has mechanics from the Ginetta factory who build all the race cars and road cars. Marco Sorsensen's brother Lassi Sorensen will be in tomorrow's rookie test. Lassi Sorensen races in the NASCAR Euro Series. We will now see relative speed comparisons between Toyota and Ginetta as we continues to watch the battle in LM GTE Am. Paul Dalla Lana, Mike Wainwright, and Francois Perrodo, followed by Salih Yoluc. OK. That isn't the actual order, but it is the battle pack. Meantime, we resume watching the LMP1/LMP2 scrap.
Charlie Robertson passes Ben Keating. Sebastien Buemi is jsut ahead of Bruno Senna, and Senna has picked up time. The gap has shrunk from 4.5 seconds to 2.9 seconds. There is no turbulence for Buemi to drive through at the moment. No nose change, as there will be time lost. Maybe it will be changed later, but not now. The spare nose will be set up as the original was, although it can be changed. The new nose will actually have a higher downforce value. Toyota leads LNT and Rebellion. Buemi loses 6/10ths of a second to Bruno Senna even in clean air. This will be a high tire degradation race. The four wheel drive system on the Toyota (All Wheel Drive, actually) will help them.
How good will the longevity of the Goodyear tires be for LMP2? The answer is they are working great right now. Michelin has hot weather tires. But Goodyear is set up with a compound that will work better in cooler weather. No further action for the #5 Ginetta on that safety car shemozzle from earlier. Charlie Robertson has cleared the GTE Pro field, and he now will work on the LMP2 cars. Sebastien Buemi is told he will get a new nose at some point in time. They have a high speed sector where they are having some issues while the Cetillar LMP2 car spins at turn 13. Buemi is putting in more steering angle, so, he needs to have an adjustment made. Don't run with an untied shoelace when you can stop and tie it, basically.
Now back to your regularly scheduled program here on the Sarcasm Channel. The Ginetta is the meat in a Toyota sandwich at the moment. We watch the LM GTE Pro battle right now. Aston Martin vs. Ferrari vs. Porsche. Ah. Rebellion goes around Toyota. They are battling each other and Senna takes the place from Buemi. Senna steams by the Toyota, which runs out of juice from it's hybrid boost. The Toyota boys are a little befuddled right now, but they may recover. Mike Wainwright goes ahead of Salih Yoluc in LM GTE Am. The Toyota squeezes one of the curbs. There's a lot of clag (pickup) on the right front tire. Pit stop time for the LMP2 car, not sure which one. We have a scrum in GTE Pro now between Porsche and Ferrari. Gianmaria Bruni runs wide. Bon Grimes spins.
This track is like a cheese grater. It's very abrasive. A rear end change for Toyota. Refueling for Rebellion. Buemi defended, and Senna swooped past. Senna opens the door, and walks right through. No fight from Toyota. Paul di Resta in the lane, and so is Giedo van der Garde. G-Drive and Job van Uitert leads LMP2. All three Goodyear shod LMP2 cars have made stops for tires. Team Jota and Jackie Chan DC Racing, neither of them changed tires. A lunge down the inside by the Porsche over the Ferrari. This is a replay. No penalty for crossing the white line from the racing line to the pit blend line, but the opposite is true. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads Kevin Estre at the momenht. The Am class lead is still held by the Project 1 Porsche #57.
All of the LMP2 cars have made pit stops as we see a the synchronized spin from Red River and Dempsey Proton. Some argy bargy there, and synchronized spinning. Christian Ried goes by Bon Grimes. Ried was making a move and Grimes did not see him. Mike Conway leads the motor race and has yet to stop. He is running longest on fuel and is doing really well. Giedo van der Garde has passed Job van Uitert. Both cars are run by TDS Racing. Toyota is now in the lane, look. They change the drink bottle, and clean the car, along with refueling. No tires. Sebastien Buemi in the sister Toyota also pits. Sebastien Buemi will gt the windscreen cleaned, and there's major damage on the left front corner of the car. There's a hole in the bodywork. Do the nose change. Take your medicine, and get back in the fight.
Mike Conway leads Mike Simpson and Bruno Senna. Thomas Flohr passes Christian Ried. He started last overall on the grtid. Motoaki Ishikawa is back there in the #70 MR Racing Ferrari. Nikki Thiim replaces Marco Sorenson in the #95 Aston Martin Vantage in GTE Pro. They are changing all four tires, rolling the dice. Paul di Resta continues in the #22 United Autosport car. Charlie Robertson hits the pit lane, as we see a bit of damag on the #29 Racing Team Nederland car, and pit stop time for Charlie Robertson in the #5 Ginetta. Flat spotting a tire gives you a vibration, and the car does not stop properly. A modern race car is really finnicky to drive with a tire issue.
Andre Negrao is catching Job van Uitert in LMP2. Negrao is the bloke on the move at the moment. Job van Uitert is seeing immediate tire drop off. The G-Drive car is not stable in the braking zone while the Alpine is sure footed. Motoaki Ishikawa slides off the road, has lost a mirror, after some argy bargy with Charli Robertson, and has lost a mirror. Poor old Charlie Robertson is not running as well as he'd like. Ishikawa, he was an innocent bystander there. The Aurus and the Ginetta are the same cars effectively, with the Gibson Technologies power unit. We continue to watrch this battle in LMP2 as Andre Negrao scraps with Job van Uitert. Loads of pickup on those tires, too.
G-Drive is hanging on, but just by the skin of his teeth. van Uitert gets passed by Negrao and Kenta Yamashita also wants to pass.
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