8 Hours of Bahrain: Toyota Gazoo Racing took its third double podium
Toyota Gazoo Racing earned its third win of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship season in the fourth round at Bahrain International Circuit. In the first-ever 8 Hours of Bahrain (previously it was the 6-hour race), Toyota gained a 1-2 victory with the #7 TS050 Hybrid crossing the finish line in front of the #8 car.
The race winners are Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López. It’s their second win this season and they retook the lead in the drivers’ championship. Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley climbed to the second step of the podium. Rebellion Racing’s Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato completed the podium.
The #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid is the winning car for the second time this year
United Autosports’ #22 Oreca finished fourth overall and took the LMP2 victory, with Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Paul di Resta as drivers. They were joined on the LMP2 podium by JOTA’s Antonio Felix da Costa/Roberto Gonzalez/Anthony Davidson and DC Racing’s Ho-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry and Will Stevens.
In the GTE Pro class, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim scored their second win of the season in the #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR. Their teammates Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin finished third in the #97 Aston Martin. Between two AMR crews, Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon finished second in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE.
The GTE Am class victory went to Team Project 1. The drivers of the victorious #57 Porsche 911 RSR were Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating and Larry ten Voorde. Aston Martin Racing’s Paul dalla Lana, Ross Gunn and Darren Turner ended the race in the second place. One more Porsche crew reached the podium by finishing third, with Ben Barker, Michael Wainwright and Andrew Watson in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche.
Two AMR crews on the GTE Pro podium at Bahrain
Check the results of the 8 Hours of Bahrain
The FIA WEC season will resume in the new year, returning to Austin, Texas following a two-year absence. The fifth round of the season would be the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas on February 23.
Photos: Toyota Gazoo Racing, Aston Martin Racing,
