Michael Christensen had a lunge on Giorgio Sernagiotto and Daniel Sera says, "thanks, sunshine. I'll play through." Ferrari 1-2. They provisionally take the team's title and the driver's title. Porsche have only a small amount of time, three hours and change, to turn their ship around if they want the championship. Cetilar want to win GTE-Am and they don't reallyn want to get into the Ferrari/Porsche scrum in GTE-Pro trying to sell the dummy to the Porsche. Andrew Watson is now in the #777 D'station Aston Martin. The top two cars are in the lane in LMP2. Charles Milesi, wide eyed, gets into the car. Seems like he's been supercharged on the caffeine, the energy drink. Alex Brundle is back on track, and the LMP2 order will be chopping and changing here.
The Alpine of Matthieu Vaxiviere chops across the front of the Jota Sport LMP2 car! That was not even for position since Alpine are a lap down. Ben Keating is now back into the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin. Racing Team Nederland being chased by Jota, United Autosport, DragonSpeed and s forth. Scherer divebombs van der Garde going in the corner! Eek! 123 laps done by the LMP2 leader, equaling 414 miles. Loic Duval is back in car #70 chasing Tatiana Calderon who is approaching the end of her stint. Frits van Eerd has only 12 minutes to go in his stint. He has to do a splash and get into the car for the very end of this race.
In GTE-Pro, this race is now in favor of Ferrari. Fred Makowiecki will be running like crazy to catch up here. Ferrari #85 still has a number that is cattywampus and covered in racer's tape. Fred Makowiecki is pushing very hard. At Iron Lynx/Iron Dames. Sarah Bovy replaces Rahel Frey who just completed her stint. Tatiana Calderon is fending off the challenge of Loic Duval. Tatiana Calderon could very well be in another LMP2 car. Sophia Floresch actually might be the one who gets another driving opportunity perhaps in the European Le Mans Series. So, High Class is in the lane, car #20 of Robert Kubica. Now, Loic Duval goes for a move into turn eight and makes it stick.
Iron Lynx Ferrari #60 in the pit lane. Many stories still to tell in this motor race. The #21 DragonSpeed car pits from fifth in LMP2 and high up in Pro-Am. Ben Hanley brings the car in and hands the car over either to Juan Pablo Montoya or to Henrik Hedman. It is Henrik Hedman, the Swede, going in for his second stint. He has to do two more stints in the final three and a half hours. #38 warned for overtaking under yellow, with Antonio Felix Da Costa, and he is on the pit lane now. Team WRT and Charles Milesi are being chased by Jota and Tom Blomqvist. Ben Hanley discussing handling of the car with DragonSpeed team boss Elton Julian.
Car #29, Racing Team Nederland, for possible unsafe release from the pit lane. Toyota #8 leads #7. Brendon Hartley over Kamui Kobayashi. They want to win and must do so if they want the championship as Ricardo Pera in the Porsche passes Takeshi Kimura in the Ferrari. Michael Christensen is right on the decklid of Daniel Serra. James Calado leads the GTE-Pro battle by five seconds. He has run 126 laps, 424 miles. It is only 6:30 P.M. in the evening in Bahrain, as it is still wickedly hot out there in the Bahrain desert.
Michael Christensen in the lane after only 26 laps completed. He was hemorrhaging time. Jaxon Evans moves 'round Ben Keating in GTE-Am. Porsche on Aston Martin. Thomas Flohr is also in this scrap. Wow! Argy bargy there between Keating and Flohr! Jeez! That was a late, late send into turn one! Egad! Crunch! Why didn't he turn immediately? The Porsche gets the free bonus there. The get out of jail free card. Will TF Sport lose another championship? They just have not had the speed today and the Balance of Performance is not working in their favor. Taking risks is not the best option as Paul Dalla Lana goes ahead of Takeshi Kimura.
Ben Keating's 2021 season can be summed up by missed opportunities. He knows he wanted more. You cannot win these races without a large slice of luck. Paul Dalla Lana in the lane steeping out of the #98 Aston Martin. Dalla Lana and company just haven't gotten the monkey off their back about Le Mans. They still want it. Big damage for the #33? No. That left front tire is inflated just fine. So they will have fuel and tires before they get the car on the dollies. Left front suspension is busted there, look. They'll repair the car and then drive it hell for leather. Drive it until it falls apart.
Keating is going to be back with TF Sport and Aston Martin in 2022. Brendon Hartley pits Toyota #8 and Kamui Kobayashi has done likewise. Toyota #8 has an efficient pit stop and Brendon Hartley stays in the car. The TF Sport car is still being worked on. Giorgio Sernagiotto now leads aboard the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari in GTE-Am. The comprehensive rebuild of the Aston Martin is continuing. They are replacing a steering rack and they should change the brakes. In a race like this they will surely need a brake change. Toyota studying video of their pit stops, looking to improve. In LMP2 Pro-Am, Loic Duval is closing on Giedo van der Garde.
Also in third, Henrik Hedman is being passed by Robert Kubica. Kubica is the quickest LMP2 car on the circuit at the present time. So, the steering rack is being changed on the Aston Martin. Kazuki Nakajima is focused on winning his last race before he retires from driving. Kazuki Nakajima again, like Anthony Davidson, he too is retiring. The two saw each other on the grid. Kazuki Nakajima will continue to be with Toyota in some way, maybe not as a racing driver though. So Kazuki Nakajima is going to be around, in some way.
Alex Wurz, who has been with Toyota, he has also gone on to work on track safety and Kazuki Nakajima could go in that direction. A penalty is to be served by one of the drivers as the #51 AF Corse Ferrari is in for new left side tires. They want to nail this. Car #29 will have five seconds added t their next pit stop. Wow. The Ferrari battle royal continues. This is going to be a long three hours and 20 minutes to get this race finished and this season finished. Porsche #92 doesn't owe a stop but they took fuel only and so they have tires that are two stints old.
Alessio Rovera, at 1:56.9 sets the fastest race lap for that specific automobile. The track is getting quicker as the ambient temperature (relatively) cools. Fred Makowiecki is 30 seconds in-arrears of the two Ferrari's. Frits van Eerd is suited and booted for another stint. The #29 Racing Team Nederland LMP2 will have a five second penalty at the end of the pit stop. So, in GTE-Am, we can see the battle between #83 and #47, the AF Corse and Cetilar Am class Ferrari's.
Oh no. The #33 TF Sport Aston Martin is still in the garage and so their championship hopes in GTE-Am are like the Bahrain desert sand slipping through their fingers. Charles Milesi leads LMP2 for WRT. Matty Vaxiviere is a lap down in the slowly recovering Alpine Hypercar. A scrap for GTE-Am and there's a major biff there, as the rear diffuser falls off the Aston Martin! Andrews bashes Marcos Gomes! Oh man! Down the inside comes Gomes, and, wallop! The rear diffuser flies into the air and there's carbon fiber all over the place. We have carbon debris at turn one.
Ollie Caldwell could be doing a triple stint? No. He has just gotten into the car after Nelson Panciatici drove. Debris in the middle of the track between T1 andf T2. Full Course Yellow in 20 seconds. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Now, the #29 car and the whole field will pit. Racing Team Nederland gets the lucky dog and gets to serve their penalty under yellow. Driver change at Cetilar and a battle for GTE-Am in the lane. No driver change at AF Corse but Roberto Lacorte now replaces Antonio Fuoco in the Cetilar #47 Ferrari.
Anthony "Ant" Davidson will be doing his final stint as a driver. Anders Fjordbach is now at the controls of the #20 High Class Racing machine. Wholesale pit stops in LMP2 Pro-Am and GTE-Am as we are back to green. D'station Aston Martin have had a botched pit stop and #98 is in the garage as well. Charles Milesi is now being chased by Stoffel Vandoorne. Two of the three Aston Martin's are in the garage as we see Roberto Lacorte chased by Jaxon Evans. Cetilar Ferrari vs. Dempsey Proton Porsche. Evans to the inside and passes Lacorte. #54 has dropped like a stone to sixth place in the class. Maybe fourth. Matteo Cairoli is now at the controls of the #56 Project 1 Porsche. Stoffel Vandoorne is on the chase, 23.9 seconds the gap over Charles Milesi.
Kevin Estre cuts a fastest lap of the race at 1:57.3 taking chunks out of James Calado and Daniel Serra in the sister AF Corse Ferrari, he sets an identical time as the track is coolng off at 7PM local time here in Bahrain as we should end the race tonight by 10PM. #33 receives a ten second penalty for contact on their next pit stop. Another fastest lap for the #28 Jota car in LMP2 at 1:52.6.
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