The Toyota Gazoo Racing team showed consistency in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2024 World Endurance Championship. Brendon Hartley, driving the number 8 GR010 Hybrid, set the fastest time with 1m46.714s, securing pole position for the third consecutive year at this circuit. This result positions the team to aim for victory in the championship's final race.
Nyck de Vries, in the number 7 Toyota, will join Hartley on the front row after setting a time that placed him in second position. De Vries, along with Kamui Kobayashi, is preparing to compete for the drivers' title. Antonio Giovinazzi, in the number 51 Ferrari 499P of AF Corse, finished third, just 0.043s behind De Vries.
The best time for Porsche in qualifying was set by Neel Jani, who secured fourth place with the Proton Competition car, showing good pace in the final sectors of the track. Kevin Estre, in the number 6 Porsche of Penske, the leader in the drivers' standings, will start from sixth position, behind the number 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, who recovered after issues in the last practice session.
LMGT3 Category: McLaren Leads Qualifying
In LMGT3, United Autosports secured the top two positions with their McLarens. Joshua Caygill, in the number 59 car, took pole with a time of 2m02.201s, just 0.002s ahead of teammate James Cottingham. The number 55 Ferrari of VISTA AF Corse, driven by François Heriau, finished third, while Sarah Bovy, in the Iron Dames Lamborghini, placed fourth.
Aliaksandr Malykhin qualified fifth with the Porsche of Manthey PureRxcing, followed by Ian James in the Aston Martin of Heart of Racing. The top ten included other teams from Ferrari, Corvette, and Lexus, indicating close competition in the category.
Qualifying Summary
The day was challenging for some teams. The Cadillacs, Peugeot 9X8, and Alpine cars failed to secure significant positions after a difficult qualifying session. In LMGT3, some contenders for the runner-up spot also did not progress to the Hyperpole session, increasing the pressure for the race.
The main event, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, will start at 14:00 local time, closing the season for all teams.
| NUMBER | TEAM | VEHICLE | CLASS | TIME | DRIVERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR010 - Hybrid | HYPERCAR | 1:46.714 | Sébastien BUEMI, Brendon HARTLEY, Ryo HIRAKAWA |
| 7 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR010 - Hybrid | HYPERCAR | 1:47.037 | Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI, Nyck DE VRIES |
| 51 | Ferrari AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | HYPERCAR | 1:47.080 | Alessandro PIER GUIDI, James CALADO, Antonio GIOVINAZZI |
| 99 | Proton Competition | Porsche 963 | HYPERCAR | 1:47.234 | Harry TINCKNELL, Neel JANI, Julien ANDLAUER |
| 50 | Ferrari AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | HYPERCAR | 1:47.527 | Antonio FUOCO, Miguel MOLINA, Nicklas NIELSEN |
| 6 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | HYPERCAR | 1:47.542 | Kévin ESTRE, André LOTTERER, Laurens VANTHOOR |
| 5 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | HYPERCAR | 1:47.630 | Matt CAMPBELL, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Frédéric MAKOWIECKI |
| 12 | Hertz Team JOTA | Porsche 963 | HYPERCAR | 1:47.950 | Will STEVENS, Callum ILOTT, Norman NATO |
| 15 | BMW M Team WRT | BMW M HYBRID V8 | HYPERCAR | 1:47.970 | Dries VANTHOOR, Raffaele MARCIELLO, Marco WITTMANN |
| 20 | BMW M Team WRT | BMW M HYBRID V8 | HYPERCAR | 1:54.564 | Sheldon VAN DER LINDE, Robin FRIJNS, René RAST |
| 38 | Hertz Team JOTA | Porsche 963 | HYPERCAR | 1:48.263 | Jenson BUTTON, Philip HANSON, Oliver RASMUSSEN |
| 83 | AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | HYPERCAR | 1:48.282 | Robert KUBICA, Robert SHWARTZMAN, Yifei YE |
| 2 | Cadillac Racing | Cadillac V-Series.R | HYPERCAR | 1:48.466 | Earl BAMBER, Alex LYNN, Sébastien BOURDAIS |
| 35 | Alpine Endurance Team | Alpine A424 | HYPERCAR | 1:48.534 | Paul-Loup CHATIN, Ferdinand HABSBURG, Jules GOUNON |
| 94 | Peugeot TotalEnergies | Peugeot 9X8 | HYPERCAR | 1:48.552 | Paul DI RESTA, Loïc DUVAL, Stoffel VANDOORNE |
| 63 | Lamborghini Iron Lynx | Lamborghini SC63 | HYPERCAR | 1:48.555 | Mirko BORTOLOTTI, Edoardo MORTARA, Daniil KVYAT |
| 36 | Alpine Endurance Team | Alpine A424 | HYPERCAR | 1:48.796 | Charles MILESI, Mick SCHUMACHER, Matthieu VAXIVIERE |
| 93 | Peugeot TotalEnergies | Peugeot 9X8 | HYPERCAR | NaN | Mikkel JENSEN, Nico MÜLLER, Jean-Eric VERGNE |
| 95 | United Autosports | McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo | LMGT3 | 2:02.201 | Joshua CAYGILL, Nicolas PINO, Marino SATO |
| 59 | United Autosports | McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo | LMGT3 | 2:02.203 | James COTTINGHAM, Nicolas COSTA, Grégoire SAUCY |
| 55 | Vista AF Corse | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:02.367 | François HERIAU, Simon MANN, Alessio ROVERA |
| 85 | Iron Dames | Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 | LMGT3 | 2:02.636 | Sarah BOVY, Rahel FREY, Michelle GATTING |
| 92 | Manthey PureRxcing | Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:02.720 | Aliaksandr MALYKHIN, Joel STURM, Klaus BACHLER |
| 27 | Heart of Racing Team | Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:02.949 | Ian JAMES, Daniel MANCINELLI, Alex RIBERAS |
| 54 | Vista AF Corse | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.033 | Thomas FLOHR, Francesco CASTELLACCI, Davide RIGON |
| 81 | TF Sport | Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | LMGT3 | 2:03.125 | Tom VAN ROMPUY, Rui ANDRADE, Charlie EASTWOOD |
| 82 | TF Sport | Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | LMGT3 | 2:03.176 | Hiroshi KOIZUMI, Sébastien BAUD, Daniel JUNCADELLA |
| 78 | Akkodis ASP Team | Lexus RC F LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.269 | Arnold ROBIN, Conrad LAURSEN, Kelvin VAN DER LINDE |
| 777 | D'Station Racing | Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.763 | Clément MATEU, Erwan BASTARD, Marco SØRENSEN |
| 31 | Team WRT | BMW M4 LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.785 | Darren LEUNG, Sean GELAEL, Augusto FARFUS |
| 46 | Team WRT | BMW M4 LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.797 | Ahmad AL HARTHY, Valentino ROSSI, Maxime MARTIN |
| 91 | Manthey EMA | Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:03.975 | Yasser SHAHIN, Morris SCHURING, Richard LIETZ |
| 88 | Proton Competition | Ford Mustang LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:04.315 | Giorgio RODA, Giammarco LEVORATO, Dennis OLSEN |
| 77 | Proton Competition | Ford Mustang LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:04.606 | Ryan HARDWICK, Zacharie ROBICHON, Benjamin BARKER |
| 87 | Akkodis ASP Team | Lexus RC F LMGT3 | LMGT3 | 2:04.772 | Takeshi KIMURA, Esteban MASSON, Jose Maria LOPEZ |
| 60 | Iron Lynx | Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 | LMGT3 | 2:05.237 | Claudio SCHIAVONI, Matteo CRESSONI, Matteo CAIROLI |
My interest in motorsports has been a constant in my life, a passion that has led me to work in a variety of important events in this field. Among them are the World Rally Championship, Formula E, NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Mexico and dirt track competitions.
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