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.
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