Toyota Get Jump on Porsche in first 90-minutes of 6 Hours of Bahrain

15/11/2014

The first quarter of the seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship saw the no14 Porsche 919 of Romain Dumas hold off the determined challenge of championship leader Sebastien Buemi for the first three laps of the 6-hour race. The pressure was immense as Buemi dived down the inside of Dumas’ Porsche to briefly hold the lead but the Swiss driver ran wide to allow the Porsche back in front. However two laps later Buemi took the lead at T4 and this time he made the move stick.

A Full Course Yellow was called on lap 16 to recover some debris on track and this allowed several of the front runners to head to the pits to refuel. The green flag was waved on lap 17 to allow the cars back up to full speed, with the no14 Porsche, which didn’t pit, back in front of the two Toyotas. Dumas held the lead until he pitted on lap 30, when the no8 Toyota went back into the lead of the race. The no20 919 of Brendon Hartley was 30 seconds behind the two Toyota TS040s with Marcel Fassler in the no2 Audi R18 in 4^th and the fastest car on the track in the first part of the race.

In LMP1-L the Lotus CLM-AER pulled off the track on the opening lap with a reported gearbox problem. The two Rebellions were 1-2 in the class with Mathias Beche in the no12 R-One leading the no13 Rebellion.

At the start of the race the no26 G-Drive Racing Ligier of Olivier Pla led the LMP2 class but contact with the no27 SMP Racing Oreca of Nicolas Minassian forced the Ligier into the pits for rear bodywork damage, losing the Russian team 3 laps before they rejoined the track. The no27 Oreca didn’t seem to be affected by the contact and continued to lead for the first part of the race. The no37 SMP Racing Oreca lost the front bodywork of the car on the fastest part of the Bahrain circuit and had to pit to have a new front fitted to the car, pushing the team back into 4^th behind the KCMG Oreca in second and the Oak Racing Morgan-Judd in 3^rd.

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RACE FACTS - 90 Minutes

16:29:50 Leading Porsche #20 stops- Bernhard into car
16:29:08 Porsche #20 retakes lead
16:27:33 Audi #2 into pits also leading #8 Toyota and #7 Toyota
16:23:57 Audi #1 lapped by leading Toyota #8
16:21:42 Sunset due in a few minutes
16:19:47 Ferrari #51 takes 2nd in GTE Pro from #92 Porsche
16:15:04 Stop and go penalty for #98 Aston
16:10:55 Aston #99 had ECU failure
16:10:09 2:00.427 fastest GTE Am lap for #95 Aston (also fastest overall in GTE)
16:08:47 2:00.730 fastest lap in GTE Pro for #97 Aston
16:07:17 1:52.963 fastest lap in P2 for Ligier #26
16:06:11 Aston #99 rejoins Rees in car
16:05:36 In GTE Am after 1 hour #75 Porsche leads from #95 Aston and #88 Porsche
16:04:03 After 1 hour #91 Porsche leads from #92 and #51 Ferrari in GTE Pro
16:02:31 Aston #99 stalls in pitlane and won't restart
16:01:28 Oreca #27 leads Oreca #47 and Morgan #35 in P2
16:00:38 Toyota's #8 and #7 lead after 1 hour from #20 Porsche
15:59:28 Porsche #14 rejoins in 5th place
15:57:08 Leading Porsche #14 stops - #8 Toyota retakes lead
15:56:16 Ferrari #71 takes lead in GTE Pro
15:55:32 Audi #1 drops to 5th after pit stop
15:53:21 Audi #1 into pits
15:50:17 Aston #97 into pits from 2nd in GTE Pro - Mucke gets in
15:48:59 Oreca #37 rejoins
15:45:45 Oreca #47 takes lead in P2 as #27 Oreca pits
15:44:41 1:46.388 fastest race lap for #1 Audi
15:43:24 Toyota #7 takes 3rd place from #1 Audi
15:42:31 Oreca #37 into pits for repairs
15:40:57 Oreca #37 loses front end bodywork
15:39:03 Toyota #8 takes 2nd place from #1 Audi
15:38:21 1:46.400 fastest lap for #8 Toyota
15:35:13 Dumas in #14 leads from #1 Audi
15:34:18 Audi #2 stops
15:33:31 Green Flag again
15:32:21 Leading #8 Toyota into pits and also #7 Toyota and #20 Porsche
15:31:17 Full course yellow for removal of debris
15:30:48 After 30 minutes #8 Toyota leads by 5.7 seconds from #14 Porsche
15:29:33 Ferrari #61 takes 2nd in GTE Am from #98 Aston
15:26:47 Oreca #37 takes 2nd from #47 Oreca in P2
15:25:14 Oreca #27 has contact with #90 Ferrari
15:19:55 Fastest lap for Buemi in #8 Toyota with 1:46.536
15:16:48 1:46.576 fastest lap of race for Di Grassi in #1 Audi
15:14:52 Di Grassi in #1 Audi in 5th place from #2 Audi in 6th
15:11:17 Ligier #26 had rear wishbone problem but now back out having lost 3 laps
15:10:30 Toyota #8 takes lead from #14 Porsche
15:08:22 After 4 laps #14 Porsche leads from #8 and #7 Toyota's and #20 Porsche
15:06:49 Aston #95 leads GTE Am from #98 Aston
15:06:03 Ferrari #51 leads GTE Pro from #97 Aston
15:04:58 Oreca #27 leads P2 from #47 Oreca
15:03:46 Lotus #9 has stopped at turn 5
15:03:11 Ligier #26 into pits
15:02:41 Buemi takes 2nd place but #14 still leads
15:01:50 Ligier #26 appears to have had contact
15:01:06 Porsches in 1st and 2nd on first lap
15:00:10 Race underway12:59:2824.4C Air temperature and 25.0C track temperature
14:56:53 Green Flag for formation lap

16:29:50 Leading Porsche #20 stops- Bernhard into car

16:29:08 Porsche #20 retakes lead

16:27:33 Audi #2 into pits also leading #8 Toyota and #7 Toyota

16:23:57 Audi #1 lapped by leading Toyota #8

16:21:42 Sunset due in a few minutes

16:19:47 Ferrari #51 takes 2nd in GTE Pro from #92 Porsche

16:15:04 Stop and go penalty for #98 Aston

16:10:55 Aston #99 had ECU failure

16:10:09 2:00.427 fastest GTE Am lap for #95 Aston (also fastest overall in GTE)

16:08:47 2:00.730 fastest lap in GTE Pro for #97 Aston

16:07:17 1:52.963 fastest lap in P2 for Ligier #26

16:06:11 Aston #99 rejoins Rees in car

16:05:36 In GTE Am after 1 hour #75 Porsche leads from #95 Aston and #88 Porsche

16:04:03 After 1 hour #91 Porsche leads from #92 and #51 Ferrari in GTE Pro

16:02:31 Aston #99 stalls in pitlane and won't restart

16:01:28 Oreca #27 leads Oreca #47 and Morgan #35 in P2

16:00:38 Toyota's #8 and #7 lead after 1 hour from #20 Porsche

15:59:28 Porsche #14 rejoins in 5th place

15:57:08 Leading Porsche #14 stops - #8 Toyota retakes lead

15:56:16 Ferrari #71 takes lead in GTE Pro

15:55:32 Audi #1 drops to 5th after pit stop

15:53:21 Audi #1 into pits

15:50:17 Aston #97 into pits from 2nd in GTE Pro - Mucke gets in

15:48:59 Oreca #37 rejoins

15:45:45 Oreca #47 takes lead in P2 as #27 Oreca pits

15:44:41 1:46.388 fastest race lap for #1 Audi

15:43:24 Toyota #7 takes 3rd place from #1 Audi

15:42:31 Oreca #37 into pits for repairs

15:40:57 Oreca #37 loses front end bodywork

15:39:03 Toyota #8 takes 2nd place from #1 Audi

15:38:21 1:46.400 fastest lap for #8 Toyota

15:35:13 Dumas in #14 leads from #1 Audi

15:34:18 Audi #2 stops

15:33:31 Green Flag again

15:32:21 Leading #8 Toyota into pits and also #7 Toyota and #20 Porsche

15:31:17 Full course yellow for removal of debris

15:30:48 After 30 minutes #8 Toyota leads by 5.7 seconds from #14 Porsche

15:29:33 Ferrari #61 takes 2nd in GTE Am from #98 Aston

15:26:47 Oreca #37 takes 2nd from #47 Oreca in P2

15:25:14 Oreca #27 has contact with #90 Ferrari

15:19:55 Fastest lap for Buemi in #8 Toyota with 1:46.536

15:16:48 1:46.576 fastest lap of race for Di Grassi in #1 Audi

15:14:52 Di Grassi in #1 Audi in 5th place from #2 Audi in 6th

15:11:17 Ligier #26 had rear wishbone problem but now back out having lost 3 laps

15:10:30 Toyota #8 takes lead from #14 Porsche

15:08:22 After 4 laps #14 Porsche leads from #8 and #7 Toyota's and #20 Porsche

15:06:49 Aston #95 leads GTE Am from #98 Aston

15:06:03 Ferrari #51 leads GTE Pro from #97 Aston

15:04:58 Oreca #27 leads P2 from #47 Oreca

15:03:46 Lotus #9 has stopped at turn 5

15:03:11 Ligier #26 into pits

15:02:41 Buemi takes 2nd place but #14 still leads

15:01:50 Ligier #26 appears to have had contact

15:01:06 Porsches in 1st and 2nd on first lap

15:00:10 Race underway12:59:2824.4C Air temperature and 25.0C track temperature

14:56:53 Green Flag for formation lap

JEFF CARTER

6 Heures de Bahreïn