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Why the WEC's wait for a real victory fight goes on

Rule changes for the 2019-20 World Endurance Championship season were designed to close up the gaps in LMP1 and level the playing field between Toyota and the privateers. The Bahrain race should have been close - here's why it wasn't

Mike Conway repeatedly looked in his mirrors in the expectation that a rival or two might appear behind him some time soon. But, no one did. Not the sister Toyota, nor one or more of the World Endurance Championship LMP1 privateers.

The Briton was never challenged over the course of his opening double stint in Bahrain. And nor were team-mates Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez as they stroked to a one-lap win on a day when the hope of a real battle between the two factory hybrids and the independents quickly evaporated.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.