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Bahrain WEC: Davidson and Buemi champions as sister Toyota wins

Toyota drivers Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi were crowned 2014 World Endurance champions despite finishing only 11th in Bahrain

Their Toyota TS040 HYBRID was delayed in the second hour by the need to change the alternator, but the failure of their only rivals for the title, Audi trio Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler, to finish second or higher means that Davidson and Buemi cannot be caught at the Interlagos series finale later this month.

Davidson said: "It hasn't sunk in yet - I couldn't bring myself to think it would happen.

"I've won big single events before but never a championship since I started racing cars.

"It is amazing: I can retire happy now."

The race was won by the second Toyota shared by Alex Wurz, Mike Conway and Stephane Sarrazin by 50 seconds from the Porsche 919 Hybrid of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb.

They were in front for much of the race despite making an early pitstop during a full course yellow period, which replaced the splash-and-dash that they would have need at the finish.

Jani was within striking range of Wurz after his final pitstop, but the clear advantage for the Toyota was restored once the Porsche made its splash with 20 minutes to go.

The second Porsche, shared by Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, finished less than seven seconds behind the sister car despite being on a different strategy.

Jani rejoined after his splash just ahead of Webber, but the Australian was powerless to challenge because he was on old tyres at the end of a double stint.

The Audi R18 e-tron quattros were again unable to challenge for a podium.

Lotterer and his co-drivers had the edge on team-mates Loic Duval, Lucas di Grassi and Tom Kristensen on the way to fourth.

GTE TITLES SETTLED

The KCMG ORECA team notched up its second LMP2 victory of the season with Alex Imperatori, Richard Bradley and Matt Howson aboard its ORECA-Nissan 03R, after coming out on top in a battle with the similar SMP car driven by Nicolas Minassian, Maurizio Mediani and Sergey Zlobin.

The SMP ORECA dropped out in the closing stages with gearbox problems and wasn't classified, allowing its sister car to move up to second.

Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander wrapped up the GT drivers' crown with another victory aboard their AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia.

They completed the six-hour race on one stop fewer than pursuers Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke in the lead Aston Martin Vantage GTE.

Turner's chase of Vilander after making his final stop with 45 minutes to go brought him to within two seconds of the Ferrari.

Danish Aston Martin drivers David Heinemeier Hansson and Kristian Poulsen took the GTE Am title with their fourth win of the season with fellow countryman Nicki Thiim.

RESULTS - 195 LAPS:

Pos Class Driver Team Car Gap
1 LMP1 A.Wurz, S.Sarrazin, M.Conway Toyota Racing Toyota 6h00m18.056s
2 LMP1 R.Dumas, N.Jani, M.Lieb Porsche Team Porsche 50.460s
3 LMP1 T.Bernhard, M.Webber, B.Hartley Porsche Team Porsche 57.268s
4 LMP1 M.Fassler, A.Lotterer, B.Treluyer Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 1 Lap
5 LMP1 L.di Grassi, L.Duval, T.Kristensen Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 2 Laps
6 LMP1 D.Kraihamer, A.Belicchi, F.Leimer Rebellion Racing Rebellion/Toyota 7 Laps
7 LMP1 N.Prost, N.Heidfeld, M.Beche Rebellion Racing Rebellion/Toyota 13 Laps
8 LMP2 M.Howson, R.Bradley, A.Imperatori KCMG ORECA/Nissan 14 Laps
9 LMP2 K.Ladygin, V.Shaytar, A.Ladygin SMP Racing ORECA/Nissan 17 Laps
10 LMP2 M.Patterson, K.Ihara, D.Cheng Oak Racing Morgan/Judd 17 Laps
11 LMP1 A.Davidson, S.Buemi Toyota Racing Toyota 18 Laps
12 LMP2 R.Rusinov, O.Pla, J.Canal G-Drive Racing Ligier/Nissan 18 Laps
13 GTE Pro G.Bruni, T.Vilander AF Corse Ferrari 22 Laps
14 GTE Pro D.Turner, S.Mucke Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 22 Laps
15 GTE Pro D.Rigon, J.Calado AF Corse Ferrari 22 Laps
16 GTE Pro J.Bergmeister, R.Lietz Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 22 Laps
17 GTE Pro F.Makowiecki, P.Pilet Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 23 Laps
18 GTE Am K.Poulsen, D.H.Hansson, N.Thiim Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 23 Laps
19 GTE Am S.Wyatt, M.Rugolo, A.Bertolini AF Corse Ferrari 24 Laps
20 GTE Am P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, C.Nygaard Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 24 Laps
21 GTE Am C.Ried, K.Bachler, K.Al Qubaisi Proton Competition Porsche 25 Laps
22 GTE Am G.Roda, P.Ruberti, M.Cressoni 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari 25 Laps
23 GTE Am A.Talkanitsa Jr., A.P.Guidi, J.Segal AF Corse Ferrari 25 Laps
24 GTE Pro A.MacDowall, F.Rees, A.Al Faisal Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 25 Laps
25 GTE Am F.Perrodo, E.Collard, M.Vaxiviere Prospeed Competition Porsche 25 Laps
- LMP2 S.Zlobin, N.Minassian, M.Mediani SMP Racing ORECA/Nissan Retirement
- LMP1 P.Kaffer, S.Trummer, N.Berthon Lotus Lotus/AER Retirement

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER SEVEN OF EIGHT ROUNDS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Anthony Davidson 148
1 Sebastien Buemi 148
2 Benoit Treluyer 117
2 Marcel Fassler 117
2 Andre Lotterer 117
3 Stephane Sarrazin 104
3 Alexander Wurz 104
4 Tom Kristensen 102
4 Lucas di Grassi 102
5 Nicolas Lapierre 96
6 Neel Jani 92
6 Marc Lieb 92
6 Romain Dumas 92
7 Kazuki Nakajima 71
8 Loic Duval 66
9 Mark Webber 63.5
9 Timo Bernhard 63.5
9 Brendon Hartley 63.5
10 Mathias Beche 60.5
10 Nick Heidfeld 60.5
10 Nicolas Prost 60.5


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