Toyota on pole in Bahrain!

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Toyota Gazoo Racing powered to pole position last night for this year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

Brendon Hartley, in the cockpit of Toyota’s #8 GR010 Hybrid, steered his crew to the leading grid place with a sensational qualifying run held under the bright lights at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

Hartley will be sharing driving duties with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa in today’s eighthour main event, which marks the final round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

“I was determined to be on pole, and I am so happy to achieve it,” said Hartley.

“The car felt great. The team did an amazing job to get all the settings right for me.

It’s a tricky track for qualifying because you only really get one lap, so everything has to come together.

My lap didn’t feel perfect but it was very clean.”

Along with their overall pole, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s #8 contender is also at the front in the WEC’s Hypercar category.

Tom Blomqvist put the #23 United Autosports crew in pole in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, and Sarah Bovy secured the leading grid position for #85 Iron Dames team in the Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Am (LMGTE Am) category.

Today’s highly anticipated WEC curtain-closer is scheduled to flag off at 2pm.

It will be the 12th time the WEC will be racing in Sakhir, and the fifth time the event is taking place in

its current eight-hour format.

All are invited to attend and enjoy the very best of motorsport action and family entertainment.

Gates are scheduled to be open to fans from 10.30am to 10.30pm.

In last night’s qualifying, held in cool and dry conditions, Hartley clocked a best lap time of one minute 46.564 seconds to top the timesheet.

He set the only time of the session that dipped under 1:47.000.

The Hartley-Buemi-Hirakawa triumvirate will be joined on the front row by Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez.

Kobayashi qualified second-fastest yesterday, going 0.489s behind Hartley in their #7 GR010 Hybrid.

Alex Lynn secured third on the grid for Cadillac Racing, setting a best lap 0.701s off the leading pace in his #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, which he shares with Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook.

Stacked

All 12 Hypercars will start at the head of the stacked 36-car field in the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Joining Cadillac on row two is Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 crew in their Porsche 963 Hybrid.

The pair of Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499Ps will begin the race in fifth and sixth, while Porsche Penske’s #5 crew are seventh, with Proton Competition’s #99 Porsche 963 in eighth.

The Hypercar grid is completed by the #38 Hertz Team JOTA in ninth, the two Peugeot TotalEnergies cars in 10th and 11th and the #4 challenger of Floyd Vanwall Racing Team.

In the LMP2 class, Blomqvist claimed pole for United Autosports with a best lap of 1:52.290.

He had the qualifying duties in the team’s Oreca 07-Gibson, which he shares with Joshua Pierson and Oliver Jarvis.

Charles Milesi in Alpine Elf Team’s #36 car qualified in second 0.271s off Blomqvist’s pace, while Robin Frijns put Team WRT third in class with a best lap 0.608s behind in their #31 Oreca 07-Gibson.

In the LMGTE Am category, Bovy spearheaded the Iron Dames crew to the front in their #85 Porsche 911 RSR-19 with a best lap of 1:58.69s.

Set to compete alongside her are teammates Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey.

They are the only all-female team on the grid.

They will begin today’s main event ahead, in class, of the #777 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of D’Station Racing and the #25 Vantage AMR of ORT by TF. Liam Talbot qualified 0.290s behind Bovy for D’Station, while Ahmed Al Harthy was 0.469s back for ORT by TF.

Earlier in the day yesterday, Cadillac Racing shot up to the top of the times in the third and final practice of the WEC weekend.

As part of today’s programme, BIC is holding an autograph session for race-goers to meet their WEC heroes just a couple of hours before they suit up for the eight-hour endurance spectacle.

This fan-engagement activity has become very popular amongst enthusiasts, with the event featuring many of the world’s superstar race car drivers.

Those attending will be able to take photos with their favourite WEC protagonists and get memorabilia signed.

The autograph session is scheduled to take place from 11.50am to 12.20pm along BIC’s main pit lane.

Those who are looking to make the most of this opportunity to interact with the sport’s icons are advised to get to the circuit early to avoid missing out.