Toyota eases to Bahrain WEC win after woe for rivals
Toyota claimed a crushing victory in the World Endurance Championship round in Bahrain after capitalising on early woes for its LMP1 rivals Rebellion and Ginetta
The #7 TS050 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez moved into the lead on the opening lap after Bruno Senna's Rebellion R-13 and the #5 Ginetta of Charlie Robertson collided at Turn 2.
From there on, the #7 trio enjoyed a trouble-free run, securing their second victory of the 2019/20 season following their triumph at the Silverstone season opener in September.
The result propelled Conway, Kobayashi and Lopez into the lead of the championship, ahead of the #8 car of Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley that finished a lap down in second.
Buemi was caught out in the first lap melee and dropped to the lower regions of the pack, also requiring a change of front bodywork, but recovered sufficiently to seal a 1-2 finish for Toyota.
The polesitting Rebellion of Senna, Norman Nato and Gustavo Menezes completed the podium spots after receiving a double whammy in the opening half of the race.
Senna had managed to recover from the hit he received from Robertson to run second in Hour 2, but an unscheduled visit to the garage to fix a gear selection issue left the Rebellion three laps down on the leading Toyota.
Both Ginettas retired from a race where success handicap had made them the early favourites for victory.
The #5 G60-LT-P1 of Robertson, Ben Hanley and Jordan King crawled to a halt in the fifth hour near Turn 9, while the other Ginetta driven by Guy Smith, Chris Dyson and Michael Simpson pulled into the pits in the penultimate hour.
United Autosports claimed its first victory in the LMP2 class after Paul di Resta, Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque led throughout the eight hours in the #22 Oreca.
Di Resta, Hanson and Albuquerque finished 21.5s clear of the second-placed #38 JOTA Sport Oreca of Anthony Davidson, Antonio Felix da Costa and Roberto Gonzales, having at one point held a lead of nearly a minute.
The Jackie Chan DC Racing team, which is also operated by JOTA, finished third with Will Stevens, Gabriel Aubry and Ho-Pin Tung at the wheel of its #37 Oreca.
Jean-Eric Vergne, Roman Rusinov and Job van Uitert finished fourth in the one-off TDS Racing-run G-Drive Aurus entry.
Aston Martin came on top in a close scrap with Ferrari to claim its second GTE Pro win of the season.
The #71 Ferrari of Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon had been leading the race prior to the final round of stops, but quicker pitwork by the Aston Martin crew catapulted the #95 Vantage of Sorensen and Thiim into the lead.
Rigon did attempt to fight back and briefly passed Sorensen into turn 11, but the Dane was able to retake the spot soon after to seal the win for Aston.
The #71 car was handed a stop/go penalty with 30 minutes to go for spinning wheels during one of its pitstops, ending any hope of victory, but it managed to hold onto second position after serving the infraction.
The sister #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, which was disqualified from first in Shanghai, was asked to give the final podium back to the #97 Aston of Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn after being held responsible for the contact between the two cars at Turn 1 in the final hour.
The GTE Pro battle turned out to be a two-horse race between Aston and Ferrari after Porsche's race unravelled in the fourth hour.
Both the 911 RSR-19s lost several laps in the garage for repairs, the #91 car of Gianmaria Bruno and Richard Lietz suffering a front-left puncture and Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen's sister #92 machine having to pit with a damper failure.
Porsche, however, did claim top honours in GTE Am, courtesy of the #86 Project 1 Porsche crew of Ben Keating, Larry ten Voorde and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Second-place went to the factory #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Ross Gunn and Darren Turner, which briefly held the lead before settling for second to equal its season-best result from Silverstone.
The #86 Gulf Racing drivers Ben Barker, Michael Wainwright and Andrew Watson made it two Porsches on the podium.
Porsche star Bernhard explains retirement decision
Senna slams Ginetta driver for 'destroying' his WEC Bahrain race
Daytona 24, Hour 21: MSR Acura back in front with three hours left
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura was back in front with three hours remaining in the Daytona 24 Hours that opens the IMSA SportsCar season.
Ekstrom defeats Schumacher for fourth Race of Champions victory
Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom took his fourth Race of Champions title at Pite Havsbad in Sweden after defeating Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher in the final.
Ogier eyes WRC Monte Carlo rematch with Loeb
Sebastien Ogier is keen for a Rally Monte Carlo rematch against Sebastien Loeb in next year's World Rally Championship after becoming the most successful driver in event history.
Webber: Red Bull will remain "dangerous" threat in F1 2023 title fight
Mark Webber believes Red Bull will remain the “most dangerous team” in Formula 1 in 2023 despite facing penalties for its cost cap breach.
Why the WEC should make space for modern garagistes in 2023
OPINION: There is plenty of excitement over the glut of manufacturers tackling the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship this season. The selection committee is set to face headaches over who it decides to admit and who gets turned away from the 2023 entry list, but history tells us that the smaller entrants have a place
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
Is Qatar the price motorsport fans have to pay?
OPINION: Fresh from hosting a controversial 2022 football World Cup, Qatar has added its name to the 2024 World Endurance Championship calendar. Although questions may be asked about its presence on the calendar, is it simply the price to pay for having a healthy racing championship?
How Toyota defeated Alpine for the 2022 WEC title
Toyota #8 trio Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa outscored their rivals in the last season before the World Endurance Championship’s top class gets ultra-competitive. Here's how their Hypercar battle with Alpine and the remaining class tussles played out in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, were voted as Autosport's greatest sportscar in 2020 - here's why
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.