8H Bahrain 4 Hour update: Toyota 1-2 while Ferrari leap ahead of Porsche in pit stops
Photo: WEC
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8H Bahrain 4 Hour update: Toyota 1-2 while Ferrari leap ahead of Porsche in pit stops

Brendon Hartley driven No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Hypercar heads the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain as race enters fifth hour.

AF Corse Ferrari take advantage under third full course yellow and No. 51 car takes lead in close LMGTE Pro battle.

In LMP2, Team WRT lead while No.47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari heads LMGTE Am 

Hypercar  

  • Toyota Gazoo Racing 1-2 after four hours of racing in Bahrain 
  • Kazuki Nakajima held small gap over Jose-Maria Lopez for duration of third and fourth hours 
  • No.7 Toyota on schedule to clinch back-to-back titles later today 
  • At four-hour mark the No.8 car now driven by Brendon Hartley holds 17-seconds over Kamui Kobayashi driven No.7 car 
  • Alpine ELF Matmut continue to recover from first hour gear selection issue and fight back up the order 

LMGTE Pro  

  • Epic battle rages on as Ferrari and Porsche circulate almost nose-to-tail 
  • No.91 Porsche 911 RSR leads but then No.92 car takes the initiative 
  • But No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo fights back and James Calado hits the front after pitting under full course yellow mid-way through the fourth hour 
  • Michael Christensen takes over the No.92 Porsche and lies just 2.5 seconds adrift of Calado 
  • No.52 AF Corse third on tail of Christensen as top three circulate 4.1 seconds apart 
  • Frederic Makowiecki fourth in No.91 Porsche as fight gets set for second half of spectacular encounter  
  • Pole-sitting Kevin Estre resists James Calado’s No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Pro machine  
  • Calado though muscles his way through but then has to give place back after breaking track limits 

LMP2  

  • Team WRT take control of LMP2 as they look to seal debut season title 
  • Robin Frijns takes lead and hands over to Charles Milesi who extends gap at front 
  • Ferdinand Habsburg steps aboard for his second stint at the wheel but has to defend the lead from a charging Sean Gelael in the No.28 JOTA 
  • Gap sits at 12-seconds as fifth hour arrives 
  • United Autosports USA fightback to third place after tough opening. Fabio Scherer 15-seconds off second placed Gelael 
  • No.38 JOTA falls away after two penalties: one for speeding in pitlane and then second for overtaking under full course yellow conditions 
  • But Antonio Felix da Costa still holds fourth place ahead of Inter Europol car driven by Alex Brundle 
  • LMP2 Pro/Am division is headed by Racing Team Nederland which starred in opening hours with Giedo van der Garde and Frits van Eerd enjoying spells in the lead 

LMGTE Am  

  • Cetilar Racing back to the front of LMGTE Am as Giorgio Sernagiotto streaks in to 17-second lead 
  • No.83 AF Corse places second as Alessio Rovera takes second stint at the wheel and continues what looks to be inevitable victory charge 
  • TF Sport Aston Martin continue remarkable fightback to place third with Dylan Pereira placing just 39-seconds off lead, as they look for a title challenge miracle 
  • No.88 Dempsey Proton Porsche is a retirement as Axel Jeffries spins at turn one and is unable to re-start