Bahrain 2 hour report: Kobayashi leads for Toyota
Bahrain International Circuit’s Chairman (Board of Directors) Arif Rahimi waved the green flag to signal the start of today’s Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain. Below are the main headlines following the first two hours of racing.
LMP1
• Race starts in dramatic circumstances as pole sitting Rebellion of Bruno Senna is spun by Ginetta of Charlie Robertson
• Incident hands lead to Mike Conway while Senna recovers and blasts through the field
• No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID continues to lead after two hour mark arrives
• Kamui Kobayashi takes over from Mike Conway and enjoys a 41-second lead over No.1 Rebellion R13-Gibson
• Gustavo Menezes takes over the Rebellion from Bruno Senna and sets about trying to reduce gap to Kobayashi with fresh tyres
• Second of the Toyotas driven now by Brendon Hartley sits third but 30 seconds away from second position
• Sebastien Buemi was caught up in opening corner incident and suffered front bodywork damage. Front section replaced at first pit stop.
• Team LNT place fourth and fifth as No.6 Ginetta driven by Chris Dyson heads No.5 car with Jordan King aboard AER powered LMP1 car
• King sets fastest lap of race so far just before third hour arrives
LMGTE Pro
• LMGTE Pro also sees early action as pole sitter Gimmi Bruni is hit at first corner by Alessandro Pier Guidi’s AF Corse Ferrari
• Pier Guidi takes lead as a result and leads first hour from second Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kevin Estre
• No.51 AF Corse Ferrari, now driven by James Calado, holds slender advantage over No.92 Porsche 911 RSR of Michael Christensen
• Gimmi Bruni places third as he completes a double stint in No.91 911 RSR
• Out of sequence No.95 Aston Martin Racing entry lead most of second hour but pits and drops to fifth as it runs different strategy to opposition
> GTE PRO BATTLE FOR THE LEAD <
— WEC (@FIAWEC) December 14, 2019
Player 1: @NickiThiim
Car: @AMR_Official
Player 2: @ChristensenMK
Car: @PorscheRaces #WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/WeItrVsPQH
LMP2
• United Autosports lead of LMP2 after Paul Di Resta builds 35-second lead before handing over to Phil Hanson
• G-Drive Racing surged back to second place after losing time with worn tyres at start of second stint and are therefore out of sequence on pit stops
• At 2 hour mark the High Class Racing take second place with Anders Fjordbach at the wheel
• JOTA place third as Roberto Gonzalez takes over cockpit from Anthony Davidson
Great opening double stint from @PaulDiResta - he pits the #23 from the lead and hands over to @PhilHansonRace. 6hrs 32mins remaining #BeUnited #8hBahrain @FIAWEC pic.twitter.com/zM38Nl8dH2
— United Autosports (@UnitedAutosport) December 14, 2019
LMGTE Am
• Ben Keating completes a stellar triple stint in No.57 Team Project 1 Porsche and leads majority of first two hours
• Ross Gunn in No.98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage catches and passes Keating just before second scheduled stop to claim lead
• Third in class sits category leading Aston Martin of TF Sport driven by Charlie Eastwood
• No.56 Project 1 Porsche makes lengthy pit stop after suffering cracked exhaust
Latest times can be found HERE.
