LMP 180 Minute Report: Drama in Bahrain

The championship leading Toyota TS040 of Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson hit trouble in the second quarter of the 6 Hours of Bahrain when a broken alternator forced the no8 car into the pits for 16 laps, dropping them down the order and 6^th in LMP1.  The Toyota mechanics worked tirelessly to get the car back out on track and this was achieved at the earliest opportunity.

While the no8 car hit problems the no7 TS040 of Mike Conway took control of the race, leading Timo Bernhard in no20 Porsche by 44 seconds as the clock counted past 180 minutes, with Andre Lotterer in the no2 Audi in third place.

The no12  Rebellion R-One of Nick Heidfeld was in 6^th overall, two laps behind the no1 Audi of Tom Kristensen and one lap ahead of the no13 R-One of Andrea Belicchi.

In LMP2 Richard Bradley in the no47 KCMG Oreca caught and passed the no27 SMP Racing Oreca of Maurizio Mediani just as the clock hit the halfway point of the race to take the lead in LMP2. The no26 G-Drive Ligier of Julien Canal was recovering and was up to 4^th in LMP2, 2 laps behind the leader.

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Jeff Carter

RACE FACTS - 180 Minutes

• 18:00:03 Ferrari #51 leader in GTE Pro into pits
• 17:58:09 Oreca #47 takes lead in P2 from #27
• 17:55:48 In P2 Oreca #47 within 2 seconds of leader #27 Oreca
• 17:51:56 Toyota #7 leads by 20 seconds after 92 laps
• 17:47:11 Aston #98 into pits
• 17:44:09 Aston #97 into pits
• 17:25:57 Leader Toyota #7 into pits
• 17:25:31 Toyota #8 rejoins
• 17:22:47 Audi #2 into pits
• 17:21:28 Toyota #8 back into pits
• 17:20:59 GTE Pro leader #91 into pits
• 17:17:01 Toyota #8 back out 17 laps behind leader
• 17:14:34 Porsche #14 of Lieb takes 3rd place from #2 Audi
• 17:13:18 Toyota #8 has fallen to last place other than #9 Lotus 15 laps behind leader
• 17:10:56 After 2 hours in GTE Am #95 Aston leads from #88 Porsche and #61 Ferrari
• 17:09:41 After 2 hours in GTE Pro #91 Porsche leads from #51 Ferrari and #97 Aston
• 17:08:44 In P2 after 2 hours #27 Oreca leads #47 Oreca and #35 Morgan
• 17:07:56 After 2 hours #7 Toyota leads by 35 seconds from #20 Porsche and #2 Audi
• 17:06:07 1:49.744 fastest LMP1-L time of race for Rebellion #12 of Prost
• 17:04:16 Close battle between #51 #97 and #92 for 2nd in GTE Pro
• 16:58:49 Leader in GTE Pro #51 Ferrari into pits #71 takes lead
• 16:56:36 Audi #2 into 3rd place
• 16:55:01 Porsche #75 into pits with problem
• 16:54:20 Porsche #14 into pits - Lieb in
• 16:51:11 Toyota #8 on high trestles and floor removed
• 16:48:54 Ligier #26 into pits
• 16:47:48 Audi #1 into pits - Kristensen in
• 16:46:41 Toyota #7 takes the lead
• 16:46:08 Alternator problem for leading #8 Toyota
• 16:45:22 Slow laps for #26 Ligier
• 16:41:32 Conway in #7 Toyota passes #14 Porsche for 2nd place
• 16:40:32 Ferrari #61 leads GTE Am by 17 seconds from #95 Aston and #90 Ferrari
• 16:39:15 Ferrari #51 leads GTE Pro by 11 seconds from #97 Aston and further 12 secs back to #71 Ferrari
• 16:35:56 1:46.126 fastest lap for Lotterer in Audi #2
• 16:32:17 1:46.319 fastest lap for Lotterer in Audi #2