In the heat of the Bahrain desert, it is time, now, for the final race in what became a long, long season. The odyssey that is the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship, concludes, today, after a year and a half of solid racing, of course, interrupted very rudely by a global pandemic for a good while. But now, it is time, for a final race, to determine not just winners, but champions, who will also be crowned. Welcome, to the 8 Hours of Bahrain, at the Sakhir circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, a track that also plays host to Formula 1, but is now the home of the WEC curtain closer. We are back in Bahrain, exactly 11 months since we were here last, for what was the fourth round of the championship, with one cancelled race, of course, from Sebring, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
First up, it is time to qualify, at night, in the cooler conditions of a Bahrain desert evening. 442 days after the season began, the final qualifying session is slated to get underway. Come with me now, as we discover how everything went down. GT cars as always, go out for their qualifying laps first. Red River Sport and their #62 Ferrari 488 GTE were first on the track for qualifying. They have a slightly altered driver lineup for this race. England's Bonamy Grimes, sharing with fellow Brit Colin Noble, and Kei Cozzolino of Japan. Keep in mind, this race took place, on the very same weekend as the rescheduled 12 Hours of Sebring for the IMSA championship, which was their finale of their season as well, so a lot of driver swapping had to happen between the two events and the two championships.
Aston Martin would run 1-2 in LM GTE Am with the #90 TF Sport Vantage in second place, being shared by Jonny Adam, Salih Yoluc, and Charlie Eastwood, while the class pole position was indeed taken by the factory #98 Aston Martin for Canada's Paul Dalla Lana, Englishman Ross Gunn, and stepping in for driving duty in this race, the veteran and legend, former Formula 1 driver, and longtime sports car racer, from Portugal, Pedro Lamy.
In LM GTE Pro, the top three places were evenly split by one car, from each of the three manufacturers. Porsche were fast, but the Danish Aston Martin, clinches pole, as the duo of Nikki Thiim and Marco Sorensen are gunning for a championship. Then it was time for the boys in the prototype classes to go out for their combined qualifying session for LMP1 and LMP2. The two Toyota's remain the class of the field in the final event ever for the TS050 Hybrid, a car that has had boatloads of success for the last couple of years, becoming obsolete after this race as the LMP1 regulations will give way to LMP Hypercar, in the foreseeable future.
In the LMP2 class, United Autosports is the team to beat, and so their rivals are going to have to step it up, and turn on the afterburners here in Bahrain. The team of Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson, and Paul di Resta, are confident, coming into the finale this weekend. Signatech Alpine has a strong run in qualifying with it's driving duo turning in clean laps. Now, it is possible there are three drivers in the car. I had said driving duo, but it appears it will be the trio of Thomas Laurent and Pierre Ragues from France, sharing with Andre Negrao from Brazil, here in Bahrain. Jackie Chan DC Racing will start in second place, Will Stevens from England, Ho-Pin Tung from China, and Gabriel Aubry from France, on the driver's strength.
Then came LMP1. Toyota would certainly be at the top of the tree. But which of their cars would score the pole position? It is the #7. #7 had a 1.1 second advantage during the official qualifying laps, and the trio of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez, have a 3/4 of a second advantage over the sister #8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Kazuki Nakajima. So, qualifying is done and dusted, and now, read on, to find out about the race. Eight hours of fabulous racing to round out the 2020 season and the LMP1 era. Read on, and stay tuned, as the race is coming up, next.
As so often as before, the season ends in Bahrain. But, we have seen 443 days, and a global pandemic. The factory #98 Aston Martin starts on GTE Am pole with Paul Dalla Lana from Canada, Ross Gunn from Great Britain, and again, Portuguese Formula 1 veteran, Pedro Lamy. The championship battle is going to come down between TF Sport and their #90 Aston Martin for Charlie Eastwood, Jonny Adam, and Salih Yoluc, and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, of French drivers Emmanuel Collard and Francois Perodo, and their team mate, the Dane, Nicklas Nielsen. In the GTE Pro class, the championship fight is between Aston Martin and Ferrari. James Calado is the danger man for the championship at Ferrari, the one who is in with a chance. His rival, at Aston Martin, for the championship cup, is Belgian, Maxime Martin.
Aston Martin has already clinched the manufacturer's championship. Porsche have had a dreadful season in 2019-2020. Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre are going to be the ones just picking up the pieces of a shattered season. In LMP2, United Autosports have had an incredible debut season in the FIA WEC. The trio of Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque, and Paul di Resta having sewn up both the driver's and team's championship titles. With that said, it's not been all wine and roses for these boys. They didn't turn a lap way back at Silverstone, but they did win their class at Le Mans and have the pole today.
Toyota #7 starts from pole for the finale. Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez, and Kamui Kobayashi, are determined. They have to beat their team mates, in the sister #8 Toyota, Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Brendon Hartley, to clinch the World Championship for 2019-2020. This is also the final ever race for the LMP1 category in World Endurance Championship competition. We have seen close racing in LMP1, but we've also seen so many wonderful races, and wonderful memories. LMP1, we will miss you. Toyota Ambassador Alexander Wurz is very happy about what has already happened in FIA WEC and is looking forward to the future.
But now, it is time to race, in the present. For one final time, the field is waved away on the formation lap, behind the safety car. We have a green flag for the formation lap. Gerard Neveu, is serving his final day as FIA World Endurance Championship President, and Fiona Miller, her final day as Communications Director. They both move on at the end of this race. The field is coming up the main straightaway, towards the lights, and we are set for the final rolling start of the 2019-2020 campaign. The Toyota's and certainly all the cars, have the words "Merci, Gerard", "Thank You, Gerard", emblazoned on them, thanking Monsieur Neveu for his leadership of the FIA World Endurance Championship since it began in 2012.
Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! The 8 Hours of Bahrain, is underway! Mike Conway in Toyota #7 leads the field down into the first corner for the first time of asking in this eight hour marathon. Sebastien Buemi tucks in behind his team mate, but already making inroads is one of the LMP2 cars. That's the #22 United Autosports Oreca being started by Paul Di Resta from the class pole. Di Resta can't split the Toyota's, but he has the rest of the LMP2 field covered at the moment. The GTE cars, both Pro and Am, file through as well. Some contact, look, between the Porsche's and the Ferrari's, somewhere. Hopefully that won't produce major damage for either car.
A slow start for the Aston Martin's. There's been some shuffling at the front of the GTE Am class. The #90 TF Sport Aston, the Yoluc/Adam/Eastwood car, has gone ahead of the pole sitting #98 Dalla Lana/Gunn/Lamy entry. Clean and green so far, through the first few corners. We are going to see the heat and the stint duration take it's toll in the opening stanza of this motor race. We started the race at 2PM local time and will finish it at 10PM local time. A long day of driving ahead for these teams. Yes, it's 1/3rd of the duration of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but nevertheless, it will be a very tough race.
We can see the wick is being turned up in GTE Pro. There's some argy bargy as the Ferrari is the meat in a Porsche sandwich. Yes. There was argy bargy as the Porsche tries chopping across the Ferrari. The #97 Aston Martin, the Maxime Martin and Richard Westbrook driven car, has a ringside seat for all this action. We believe it is Maxime Martin who is starting the car. Whoops. Five minutes into the race and we have a spin. Bonamy Grimes has looped the Ferrari, the #62 Red River Sport 488 GTE he is sharing with Colin Noble and Kei Cozzolino.
Deary me! He was run into by Egidio Perfetti, the candy magnate turned racing driver, who biffs him right in the tail, and sends the Ferrari spinning. Ten minutes into the motor race, and the GTE Am battle is hot and heavy. It's the battle of the Aston Martin's, the TF Sport car vs. the factory car. Paul Dalla Lana is chasing Salih Yoluc as all the gentleman drivers have started the race in GTE Am. In third spot, the #57 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR being shared by Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, and Dylan Pereira, the Luxembourg Portuguese driver. He is of Portuguese heritage, but was born in Luxembourg, and Pereira is a longtime competitor in the single make Porsche Supercup championship which is a support series for Formula 1.
Ben Keating is at the controls of the orange and purple Wynn's Porsche at the moment. The Aston Martin's right now, are the class of the field in GTE Am. In the meantime, Toyota #7 with Mike Conway still leads Sebastien Buemi in the #8 car. The gap between the Toyota team mates has ballooned to five and a half seconds already. The tire strategy is that they will likely need to double stint their Michelin rubber, because they don't have enough tires for bolting on a fresh set at every pit stop. Double stinting is probably as far as they will be able to go. As we have seen before, triple stinting the tires, even at Le Mans, is not the best laid plan. Will the #8 car serve to benefit from being gentler on the tires?
The circuit here in Bahrain is really tough on tires. It is abrasive, not only from pavement wear, but also from the desert sand. Sand gets thrown onto the circuit always. The GTE Pro battle continues between Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin. Each manufacturer has a different tire strategy. Who is saving their tires already? It sounds like Porsche is focusing on tire preservation. In LM GTE Am, we can see Bonamy Grimes trying to make a move on Michael Wainwright who is at the wheel of the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR. The British Porsche, Wainwright is sharing with his regular co-driver and fellow Brit, Ben Barker, and with Belgian driver Alessio Picariello.
Picariello is Belgian, with an Italian name, and his dad, is from Italy. A three car queue of GTE Am machines is closing up on Sebastien Buemi in the second Toyota. Things are looking somewhat bleak for the #83 championship contending AF Corse Ferrari in GTE Am. They are last, caboose on the field in GTE Am presently, the Collard/Nielsen/Perrodo driven car. Bonamy Grimes has passed Mike Wainwright, but the Toyota dusts both of them. The speed of these hybrid LMP1 cars that we've seen for the last eight or so years, has been astounding. Johnny Mowlem, Bonamy Grimes' co-driver in the #62 Ferrari explains that there is no further action for the contact that was made to their car, by Senore Perfetti in the Mentos Porsche.
Mowlem says that the team did not need that contact, but he is extremely proud of the job Bonamy Grimes is doing, to carve his way back up through the field. There's a long, long way to go. Bonamy Grimes also moves around the #77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR, Christian Ried, the team principal, at the wheel of it at the moment. Ried is sharing with Riccardo Pera of Italy and with Dennis Olsen, the factory Porsche ace from Norway who we've seen do so well in several championships this year, whether it's World Endurance, IMSA, or SRO with the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Olsen is a wheel man when he is in a Porsche.
Francois Perrodo, meanwhile, makes his move for ninth spot in GTE Am, going around Mike Wainwright. Paul Di Resta and United Autosport, meanwhile, lead LMP2 over Andre Negrao and Signatech Alpine as they thread the needle through GT traffic. Those downhill esses allow little passing room and no margin of error. You've got to be razor precise driving through that section of track. Into the turn eight hairpin they go. Whoa! That was a close shave there, look, between the GTE Pro factory Porsche and one of the LMP's. That was either a Toyota or an LMP2 car. Difficult to tell from the onboard camera in the Porsche.
Kevin Estre for the factory Porsche team leads GTE Pro and pulling out for a pass is the LMP2 leader, Paul Di Resta in the Oreca for United Autosports. The leading Toyota is moving up on this battle and is going to easily move around the LMP2 and GTE Pro cars. Second place in GTE Pro is the Danish crewed Aston Martin, the "Dane Train", with Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen. In GTE Am, it's getting hot and heavy. The battle is brewing once again. Aston Martin, Aston Martin, Porsche, Porsche. Two Team Project 1 Porsche's chasing the TF Sport and factory Aston Martin's. Paul Dalla Lana looks to the inside to make a pass, gets caught out, and takes his turn on the whirligig. Yoluc runs wide, Dalla Lana spins in avoidance, and Ben Keating ducks right through saying, "thank you very much", and goes on his merry way, assuming the class lead.
Pit stop time, at the 43 minute mark in the race, for Toyota #7, from the race lead. Both Toyota's are in the pit lane, as the #8 is in right behind the leader. The top two cars are being serviced. Mike Conway's pit stop is done and dusted and he's back on track while Sebastien Buemi is taking on service from the Toyota mechanics. Salih Yoluc is still being monstered by Egidio Perfetti in GTE Am. It is the rabbit vs. the hound between those two blokes at the moment. Mike Conway whistles through, still in the lead of the motor race. You've missed nothing at the sharp end.
Sebastien Buemi is trailing Mike Conway by 14 seconds. There is no one in racing you want to beat more than your team mate, and Sebastien Buemi is frustrated about it. He asks on the radio to the team, "why didn't we stick to our original plan?" The team tells him, "the gap is too big to get the jump on your team mate." So, the proof is in the pudding there, look. #8 cannot leapfrog #7. To be continued. The plot thickens. Meantime, with just 53 minutes on the board in this eight hour marathon, the #97 Aston Martin is in. Routine service. Maxime Martin hands the car over to Richard Westbrook. Westbrook was supposed to be in the #98 Aston Martin. He replaces Alex Lynn who is not racing here at Bahrain.
Lynn tested postivie for the Coronavirus, and so, he is quarantining and recovering. Pedro Lamy is in the #98 Aston Martin Am entry of course. Aston Martin will do a complete four tire change on the #98. In replay, we see the #92 Porsche, Kevin Estre, going off the road. Thankfully, that was a harmless off and on, and not a spin. He very nearly ended up doing a Swiss roll there, and he would have had the chocolate cake, but lost the cream, had he spun out. One hour is done and dusted now, and so, the top two in GTE Pro are in the pit lane for service. The #92 Porsche and the #95 Aston Martin, the Thiim/Sorensen car. Porsche are the outgoing champions who have just had a season to forget in WEC season eight, and the Aston Martin boys will likely be crowned champions at the end of the race tonight.
A four tire change at Aston Martin, but, a two tire strategy for the #92 Porsche. This isn't in the script, mate! Oh well, maybe they are being sneaky. Maybe the Porsche boys feel two tires is the way to go at this stage. Two tires for Stuttgart, and the boys from Gaydon, Warwickshire in England, are going for four tires. Porsche, during the heat of the day, are opting to use scrubbed tires that already have had a heat cycle put through them and already have a little bit of mileage, maybe from practice and/or qualifying. An hour and ten minutes into the race and the battle in GTE Am is steaming along nicely, thank you. Ross Gunn is making a move on Egidio Perfetti. Ross Gunn makes his move, pulling out to pass and says "arriva derci, Egidio" as he moves his way by Perfetti down the front straightaway.
Fourth in LM GTE Am is still the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin, leading the points championship, with the #83 AF Corse remaining caboose on the field in GTE Am. Mike Conway in Toyota #7 still leads the motor race overall, in the final ever race for LMP1 cars, looking to round out this era with a victory. We fondly remember the days when the championship had three protagonists in the form of Toyota, along with Porsche and Audi. This is a golden era of sports car racing we've been in on the world championship level, just as it was with the Group C era in the '80s and early '90s.
Of course, the LMP1 era really goes back further than just the battles between Audi, Porsche, and Toyota. Before the WEC became a full on championship, we did see some fantastic races between Audi and Peugeot with their diesel powered LMP1 monsters. Audi, choosing an open cockpit racer, and Peugeot opting for the coupe style race car, both powered by massive diesel engines. We've seen some wonderful drivers. The drivers have driven some wonderful cars. As fans, we have seen so many races where we had no idea what was going to happen until the very end.
The technology of these cars, with the diesel and the hybrid energy technology, has been absolutely staggering and fascinating to witness. Braking recuperates stored energy in the car, and then, on acceleration... boom! Instant power. Instant, 1,000 horsepower, to power their way up the straightaway. We have enjoyed so much of this action in LMP1 over the years, and we look forward to what the new Hypercar era has to offer. Wow. As we've been reminiscing about LMP1, there has been a change for position in the GTE Am division. The #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE has made a move on the Team Project 1 Porsche #56.
Giancarlo Fisichella has moved ahead of Egidio Perfetti. Through the esses, the former Formula 1 driver, goes past the candy maker. Good scrap in LMP2, look. This is a battle for fourth spot in class between the #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca and the #36 Sigantech Alpine. Not too much difference between these two cars except for the name. They are the same car, but the Alpine is its own brand. Racing Team Nederland are second in the championship. Signatech Alpine have had the pace throughout the 2019-2020 campaign, but they've just had no luck at all and you can't go through these motor races without a large slice of luck, or luck being on your side.
At the very least, the boys at Signatech Alpine want a podium spot. Nearly and hour and a half has elapsed since we started this motor race as the #38 Jota Sport Oreca makes a pit stop and resumes back in the race. This is the car of Antonio Felix Da Costa of Portugal (the former BMW factory driver), Roberto Gonzalez of Mexico, and former Toyota factory driver, Anthony Davidson from England. Roberto Gonzalez at the controls of the #38 and he just barely squeaks his way out of the pits ahead of the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca LMP2 car of Ho-Pin Tung. Cold tires for Gonzalez and hot tires for Tung. These two are just barely ahead of the #22 United Autosport entry on Michelin tires.
Phil Hanson is being told to keep pushing. Phil Hanson wants to play the long game, but the team says, "we have to pass them on the road." Now, the blowtorch is being applied in GTE Pro! This is not for the lead, but it is a battle for fourt spot and is still hot and heavy. The Aston Martin was ahead of the two Ferrari's, but the boys from Maranello are trying their hardest to reverse that. Daniel Serra moves ahead in the #51 car he shares with James Calado, while also going door to door with the Aston is the sister #71 AF Corse Ferrari being shared by Miguel Molina and Sam Bird. Molina has his hands full with Richard Westbrook and the two of them play a round of dodge 'em cars.
Westbrook has spent the last half hour trying to fend of the challenge of The Prancing Horse. But, they've cracked his defense like an egg, and now, the prancing horses are galloping away, or trying to. They've bolted, while the door to the barn remains open. Westbrook's Aston Martin is running out of rear grip and he's skating around out there. It's like driving on ice. The lead battle in LMP2 is simmering. Jackie Chan DC Racing vs. Jota vs. United Autosport. Phil Hanson keeping a watching brief.
Roberto Gonzalez dive bombs Ho-Pin Tung and then as Gonzalez brakes too deep into turn ten, Tung sees his chances and makes the pass, regaining the spot. Phil Hanson is now going after Roberto Gonzalez as we approach the two hour mark of the race in another ten minutes or so. Hanson makes the move on the inside into turn one. That's a classic move here at the Sakhir circuit. Right at the two hour mark, it is pit stop time for the #91 factory Porsche in GTE Pro. Richard Lietz from Austria is next into the car, replacing starting driver Gianmaria Bruni, the Italian. The sister Porsche 911 RSR-19 is also in the lane. Michael Christensen, the Dane, will take over the car from Kevin Estre.
More pit action as we have begun the third hour of the race and Toyota #8 is in. But, the #7 is still ahead. #8, as they enter, they are a minute behind the sister car which is leaving the pit lane, getting back into the race. This is a disheartening, demoralizing experience for the #8 team. The sister Toyota is whistling off into the distance before the #8 can even get to the pit box. #8 better pull a rabbit out of the hat, and fast. Wow. Check this out. Sunset in the desert, racing into the night, here in Bahrain. Absolutely incredible. Less than five and a half hours on the board in this race now. Wow. Another lead change in LMP2. Phil Hanson moves ahead of Ho-Pin Tung.
At the end of the backstretch, Ho-Pin Tung outbrakes himself and runs wide into the turn. That is a Christmas present for Phil Hanson. Manna from heaven. Thank you so much! I'll take that place. Well, well, well. What more twists and turns do we have in store? Whoa! Phil Hanson thought he was clear in the LMP2 lead, but he spins out! Just when we thought we'd be clean and green, here's a spin for you. The car spins when Hanson shifts up from second to third gear, and breaks traction, putting the Brit on the whirligig.
Phil Hanson radios the team. "It just spun on me. It was completely out of my control when I was trying to upshift." Kamui Kobayashi is now at the wheel of the race leading #7 Toyota. #7 are behind in points after their difficulties at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in September. To win the title, they must win the race. It is that simple. They lead by 66 seconds, after almost three hours of racing, completing 92 laps, 309 miles. No matter what they do, no matter how hard they try, the #8 crew are powerless in trying to catch their sister car at Toyota.
Their championship hopes could very well be dashed. Still a long way to go. Five hours and 13 minutes left on the board. Ah. We have a Full Course Yellow according to the radio transmission from Race Director Edoardo Freitas. No on-track drama, but the circuit is littered with debris and the Full Course Yellow is for the marshals to go out there and clean the track up so the racers have a clear path. Nearly everyone hits the pit lane, taking advantage of the Full Course Yellow as an opportunity for service. We are back to green flag racing, just past the three hour mark, with everyone coming back up to speed, but half the GTE Pro field still in pit lane being serviced, or just exiting the lane, now, as we speak.
They will lose time, as will a few of the GTE Am cars that also needed to pit for service. Porsche #91 and Aston Martin #95 will definitely lose time and track position. We are headed for the dark of night, but the visibility around the Sakhir circuit is superb because of the floodlights. So, the driver's are not going to be driving headlong into pitch darkness as they would at Le Mans for example. It is nighttime but the drivers can barely tell. So, as we were, a battle in GTE Am. Francois Perrodo moves past the #77 Dempsey Proton Potsche 911 RSR, the Riccardo Pera, Christian Ried, Dennis Olsen car. Charlie Eastwoodis still in good shape as far as the GTE Am world title.
Salih Yoluc has already driven two hours of the race. They have one eye on the title. Dylan Pereira passes Mike Wainwright up the hill at turn 11 at the end of the backstretch. Wainwright goes wide and Charlie Eastwood moves around him for fourth in GTE Am. They are gaining on their title rivals, #83, in the GTE Am points race for AF Corse. TF Sport moves ahead to third, passing the #88 Dempsey Proton Am Porsche. Khaled Al Qubaisi from the United Arab Emirates is driving that Porsche, sharing with Marco Holzer from Germany and New Zealand's Jaxon Evans.
Meanwhile in GTE Pro a battle is brewing between Nikki Thiim in the Aston Martin and Davide Rigon in the Ferrari. Rigon runs a tad wide but recovers, and covers off Nicki Thiim's challenge into turn two. Thiim is not fighting. He has grip to spare, and he will go the long way, but Rigon edgs him out only just. Thiim is taking no risks. They have to finish if Aston Martin wants the championship in GTE Pro. Paul Dalla Lana and Aston Martin are not eligible for the GTE Am title but they can win the race. Charlie Eastwood is hounding Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari. Eastwood moves around Flohr for second spot. Thomas Flohr, the Swiss driver, sharing that car with his regular team mates, Italian's Francesco Castellacci and former Formula 1 driver, Giancarlo Fisichella.
Four hours gone here in Bahrain. We've reached the halfway mark of this race. Toyota #7 has completed 132 laps, 444 miles. Jackie Chan DC Racing leads LMP2. Porsche #92 leads GTE Pro and TF Sport leads GTE Am with one hand on the championship trophy. Oh boy. Trouble in GTE Pro for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. What is wrong there? Bang! Daniel Serra makes contact with the Am Porsche of Egidio Perfetti, the Mentos car, and the left rear wheel on that bright red Ferrari is busted. Serra locks the brake, and, thud! Contact is made, breaking the wheel on the AF Corse machine. Serra is upset on the radio. "What did he do? He crashed into me! I was on the inside!"
The Michelin tire on that Ferrari, on the left rear has delaminated, and this incident will bring out the safety car. Three hours and 51 minutes now remaining in the race. This is a game changer and poor James Calado will not win a championship in 2020. This is a short yellow and we are back to green flag racing now that the debris from the Ferrari shunt is cleaned up. The Toyota #7 in the lead scampers away, and we see a three way fight, look, for the LMP2 class lead. Jota Sport are coming into the picture just behind both Jackie Chan DC Racing and United Autosport. Filipe Albuquerque is challenging Gabriel Aubry.
Just after the safety car period, Signatech Alpine make a scheduled pit stop. What is their strategy plan for the remainder of this motor race? Whoa! Contact between the two leading LMP2 cars heading into the lane! Filipe Albuquerque runs into the back of Gabriel Aubry! What was that all about? Aubry slows up dramatically before the 60 kilometers an hour pit lane speed limit line, and gets caught out. Jackie Chan DC Racing beats United Autosport out of the pit lane and back on track. Will Stevens, Ho-Pin Tung, and Gabriel Aubry are going to have the advantage. Aubry of course, at the wheel of #37 currently.
This is the last race Jackie Chan DC Racing will run in the FIA World Endurance Championship. It would be fabulous if they could win this race and go out on top. That would be the cherry on the sundae for their team. Roberto Gonzalez will be next into the #38 Jota Sport car, to finish his minimum drive time as the team makes a scheduled pit stop. He takes over the wheel from Antonio Felix Da Costa. The LMP2 fight continues. Signatech vs. Jackie Chan DC Racing vs. Jota Sport. Signatech lead and are on a different strategy. Whoops. Some casual contact there, between the TF Sport Aston Martin, and the Cetilar Racing Dallara, car #47. That's the all Italian team of Andrea Belicchi, Roberto Lacorte, and Giorgio Sernagiotto.
Sebastien Buemi moves around the Jota Sport LMP2 car and this leaves the door wide open, writing an invitation for Paul di Resta to send it 'round the outside and make a move. Di Resta moves up the inside and makes it stick. Good move by the Scotsman. A five second time penalty is assessed to the #22 United Autosport car on the next pit stop, according to Race Director Edoardo Freitas. Jota Team Principal Sam Hignett says the impact was heavy and totally unnecessary, triggering the onboard accident light inside the car. Hignett says "someone thought they were still racing in IMSA."
For his part, Filipe Albuquerque admits he was optimistic with his maneuver, and says it was only a racing incident. He believes a time penalty is not necessary. Just under three hours left. Gianmaria Bruni moves past Richard Westbrook in fifth spot in GTE Pro. Maxime Martin in the #97 still has a chance at the championship. Westbrook unsuccessfully defends fifth place in GTE Pro. Meantime, fifth in LMP2, is Racing Team Nederland and their #29 Dallara LMP2 car, with Nyck de Vries at the wheel of it. Frits van Eerd, the gentleman driver on the team and the boss of Jumbo supermarkets in Holland, he has completed his drive time and now can cheer his car on as the finish of the race, and of the long, long season, approaches.
Under two and a half hours to go. Van Eerd says the team will fight for fourth spot and mkaybe the podium in class. With Signatech Alpine heading for the pit lane for service, the battle for third in LMP2 is now between United Autosport and Racing Team Nederland. Nyck de Vries moves by Paul Di Resta and Di Resta runs a shade wide, kicking up some dust. Just over two hours to go. Nyck de Vries plows across the gravel trap and you don't want to be doing that at all, sunshine. Not at this point in the race with time being of the essence. We are now officially into the final quarter of this race. The last two hours of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, and the last two hours of the eighth season of the FIA WEC.
Pit stop time for the LMP2 leader, Jota Sport. Tire management is going to start paying off. Porsche are leading in terms of teams who have managed their tires and now they get fresher tires. Six hours of pain for two hours of gain. The recent safety car has allowed Toyota #8 to claw back within six seconds of their sister car which holds the lead of this motor race, still. You've really missed nothing at the top of the shop as we have focused a lot on LMP2 in this race so far. #7 has their sister car covered on strategy, pace, and fresh tires. They've got fresh tires in the locker. You can absolutely thrash the car. No worries about tire life.
Michael Christensen is told to manage his tires and he says "I will do my best." Aston Martin had to do a brake change on the #95 before halfway, but now, #97 with new tires, will need a brake change too, before the race is over. No worries in LMP2. Use the speed to the flag. Anthony Davidson leads LMP2 with Ho-Pin Tung second in class. Signatech Alpine remain third in LMP2, but are running a completely different strategy. Anthony Davidson continues to lead LMP2 and brilliantly uses the GTE Am AF Corse Ferrari, as a pick, so that Ho-Pin Tung gets held up just a shade.
Traffic ahead. Tung is having none of Davidson's antics. Tung is trying Davidson on the outside. Davidson thinks he's got a pass. He is confident he is going to make the move here. But he doesn't have anything signed, sealed, and delivered yet. Tung slingshots past Davidson, and there's an Aston Martin ahead. Davidson has no room. Tung makes the pass stick. Bish, bash, bosh, and he takes the position away, look. This race is far from over. There's still an hour and a half left on the board.
Kamui Kobayashi is growing his gap over Brendon Hartley. If they can keep their noses clean, Toyota #7 will be World Endurance LMP1 and overall champions, later on tonight. Aston Martin #95 is in the pit lane, and they are heading towards a GTE-Pro world championship title. But, like Toyota, they too, must proceed with caution. Marco Sorensen says that the car has run well and the team was unlucky during the first Full Course Yellow early on in the motor race. They are going to bring it home. Sorensen says "I feel sick right now to be fair. I can't wait to get the car to the finish line." With an hour to go, Toyota #7 is in the pound seats for a championship.
In LMP2, United Autosport clinched the championship at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So, the fight is for second and so far, it is in favor of Jota Sport and the #38 car. Barring disaster, the "Dane Train", will share the driver's title in GTE Pro, and it will be Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim winning the championship. TF Sport, with all three of their drivers, have an eleven point cushion in GTE Am over the three drivers from AF Corse. The race is not over yet. But the permutations look accurate. Meanwhile, we return you to your regularly scheduled program here on The Sarcasm Channel. We're into the last hour and 15 minutes of racing for the eighth season of the World Endurance Championship.
Anthony Davidson is in the pit lane for Jota Sport for scheduled service. Fuel, tires, and a driver change back to Antonio Felix Da Costa, cleaning the car as well, is the team, while they're at it. #37 assumes the LMP2 class lead on the pit stop exchange. Car #37 leading LMP2 has completed 207 laps, 696 miles. Ho-Pin Tung says the tires are working very well and are durable and that their tire decisions have allowed them to move to the front, on their Goodyear tires. Pit stop time and drama for TF Sport in GTE Am. They are last in the class. Now, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, their championship rivals, are second.
Just as the AMR factory cars have done brake changes, it is now time for TF Sport to undergo a brake change on their car. So, this puts these blokes way behind the eight ball as this race is waning. Will they remain contenders for the GTE Am title? The championship is slipping through TF Sport's fingers like the desert sand. The #97 Aston Martin is now undergoing a brake change. Maxime Martin will not win the championship in 2020. He will have to wait until next year. This means, Porsche will have much less pressure. They run 1-2 at this juncture with Michael Christensen leading GTE Pro with only 45 minutes remaining in the 2019-2020 season. The team breathes a collective sigh of relief as throughout the 2019-2020 season, the Porsche factory team has gotten the rough end of the pineapple on several occasions.
Kevin Estre says he wasn't expecting this to happen and is concentrating on their race. Nicklas Nielsen pits the #83 AF Corse Ferrari with one hand on the GTE-Am title trophy. Mike Wainwright is finishing up for Gulf Racing in Porsche #86, while in the Team Project 1 Mentos #56 Porsche it is the Dutchman Larry ten Voorde, the 2020 Porsche Supercup Champion, who has teamed up for this race in Bahrain with Egidio Perfetti and with Porsche stalwart and veteran, Germany's Jorg Bergmeister.
Porsche #77 is in the lane for service. That's not going to benefit the #90 Aston Martin trio at all. The Pera/Ried/Olsen trio has run very well tonight. Mike Wainwright has just been passed by the sister Team Project 1 Porsche, the #57, purple, pink, and orange Wynn's liveried car. As of now, with just over half an hour to go, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari is the GTE Am class champion over the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin, should the positions stand as they are before the checkered flag falls. The LMP2 lead battle is steaming along, and is rising to a boiling point as we speak.
Antonio Felix Da Costa ran a fabulous in lap before pitting and it could get him out just barely in front in the class lead! This is going to be a squeaker! Gabriel Aubry at the wheel of the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car, but Antonio Felix Da Costa covers the spot and it looks like the Portuguese driver will maintain the LMP2 class lead, just barely. Great action in LMP2 with half an hour to go. Racing Team Nederland and Signatech Alpine are on different strategies, but they are still going at it hammer and tongs for third spot in LMP2. It's Nyck de Vries, the Dutchman, ahead of Thomas Laurent, the Frenchman. Some hip and shoulder there, between the Jota and Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 cars! The battle for LMP2 is as intense as we've seen all night, and it's crunch time now. Lay it on the line. Throw caution to the wind.
Da Costa holds Aubry at bay, but it seems as though Aubry has the faster car. That's for dead sure. Da Costa has more grip and he is better under braking than the Frenchman. Aubry has better tires than does the 2020 Formula E champion. Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicklas Nielsen extend their points advantage in GTE Am. They move to third in class. #83 moves up to second. TF Sport know their hopes of a championship are slipping away with each passing minute, with just 18 minutes to go. Aubry locks the brakes into turn one and he nearly runs right into the back of Antonio Felix Da Costa! Aubry is all over him. No dice. Da Costa is going to keep the lead, or is he. Here comes Aubry! Aubry stuffs it down the inside! He takes Da Costa by surprise! Da Costa had no idea Gabriel Aubry was right alongside!
Aubry to the inside. Wheel to wheel for the lead of LMP2! This isn't over yet with just over eight minutes left in the race and in the season! Antonio Felix Da Costa is going to fight to the bitter end! Aubry hangs onto the lead but only just! Now, it is the final lap, of the race, of the season, and of the LMP1 era in the FIA WEC. Jose Maria Lopez is going to bring it home, and score victory for Toyota #7 here in Bahrain along with his team mates Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi. This is redemption for them over their team mates who beat them to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in September.
Yikes! Ben Keating goes off the road right in front of the leading Toyota! That was close! The #7 Toyota keeps on trucking, and Jose Maria Lopez sees the checkered flag! Jose Maria Lopez, Mike Conway, and Kamui Kobayashi, win the Bahrain 8 Hours, and more importantly, they win the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship! Gerard Neveu waves the checkered flag. He can retire happy! This concludes the season, and also, very sadly, the LMP1 era, which as was mentioned at the beginning of the race report, has brought with it so many wonderful memories.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez go into the record books as World Endurance Champions! LMP2 victory goes to Ho-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry, and Will Stevens. They win the class, and go out with a bang in WEC competition. They will not be back for 2021. We wish them the best in their future. Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre win the race in GTE-Pro. They win the battle. But Aston Martin wins the war, and it is another championship for "The Dane Train". Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim clinch it, again.
It is their second World Championship title. In GTE Am, the outgoing champions are also the race winners. Egidio Perfetti, Larry ten Voorde, and Jorg Bergmeister, win the race for Team Project 1. But, the championship and the honor of the celebratory donuts and getting to burn out their tires (because they definitely won't be used again), goes to the #83 AF Corse Ferrari and the driving trio of Frenchmen Francois Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard, with their third musketeer, Nicklas Nielsen, the Dane. Filipe Albuquerque and United Autosports along with Phil Hanson, take the LMP2 title. Celebrate, everyone! You deserve it!
The champagne is sprayed on the podium. The longest and strangest racing season ever, comes to an end./ The final distance for Toyota #7, 263 laps, 884 and a half miles. No attrition in an eight hour race. Everyone who started, made it to the finish.
Let's have a look at the winners.
Overall/LMP1: #7 Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez Toyota TS050 Hybrid Toyota Gazoo Racing
LMP2: #37 Aubry/Stevens/Tung Oreca 07 Jackie Chan DC Racing
LM GTE Pro: #92 Christensen/Estre Porsche 911 RSR-19 Porsche GT Team
LM GTE Am: #56 Bergmeister/Perfetti/ten Voorde Porsche 911 RSR Team Project 1
Pierre Fillon presents Christian Ried the Gentleman Driver of the Year trophy. Revelation of the Year goes to Ross Gunn, the trophy presented by Richard Mille. Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich presents the Excellence Award to Filipe Albuquerque. Now it is time for the championship trophies. AF Corse are the GTE Am teams champions. Emmanuel Collard, Francois Perrodo, and Nicklas Nielsen share the driver's championship. "The Dane Train", Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen, win their second FIA WEC driver's title, having also scored the cup in 2016.
Aston Martin win the manufacturer's championship crown. United Autosport seal up both the win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 2020 LMP2 team's championship. What a remarkable season they have had. Toyota Gazoo Racing wins the final LMP1 manufacturers title, while their drivers Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez are World Champions. They didn't get the Le Mans victory they wanted so much, but they did get the championship which is the next best thing. Maybe 2021 will be their year at Le Mans.
As one era ends, another is set to begin. We will see you again next year, for the dawning of the Le Mans Hypercar era in the FIA WEC. This wild, weird, wacky, yet enjoyable 2019-2020 odyssey of the FIA WEC is now complete. We look forward to bringing you more action in 2021. For now, from under the floodlights and in the desert of Bahrain, we bid you goodnight, and we'll see you next year, for more racing action in the FIA World Endurance Championship. So long, everybody. We thank you for your company. Take care.
