Toyota No. 7 car takes pole in Bahrain

Under the floodlights of the Bahrain International Circuit, the LMP and GTE cars took to the track for the final qualifying session of the season ahead of tomorrow’s 8 Hours of Bahrain - round 8 of FIA WEC. After a thorough investigation by the stewards after qualifying, the majority of lap times which had previously been deleted were reinstated and ultimately only nine lap times remain deleted during qualifying. • Third pole of WEC Season 8 for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s No. 7 TS050 HYBRID as Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway combine with an average lap time of 1:40.747. Conway set fastest lap of the entire session with a time of 1:40.114 before Lopez took over  • No. 7’s pole position sees the crew accrue one bonus point, reducing the gap over their team-mates in the No. 8 car to just six points going into tomorrow’s race  • Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima qualify in the sister TS050 HYBRID – the duo setting a combined time of 1:41.494 with the team electing not to change tyres for the No. 8 car’s second run in order to save rubber for tomorrow’s duel in the desert

Porsche on top in LMGTE Pro  Porsche GT Team’s No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen takes pole position with a combined time of 1:56.505 – the pairing’s third pole of WEC Season 8. Aston Martin Racing’s GT World Championship points-leading pair of Nicki Thiim and Marco were second, the pair setting a combined time of 1:56.521. Making it three different manufacturers in the first three positions is the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of James Calado and Daniel Serra.

Read the full LMGTE Pro report HERE

Fourth pole position of the season for United Autosports United Autosports continued its superb run of form with another pole position – the British team’s fourth of the season. Paul Di Resta and Phil Hanson took to the wheel of the No. 22 ORECA 07 Gibson to set an average time of 1:47.440. Jackie Chan DC Racing will start tomorrow’s race second out of the six LMP2 crews competing in Bahrain, with Gabriel Aubry and Will Stevens combining to take an average time of 1:48.238. Third in LMP2 was the No. 36 Signatech Alpine Alf as French duo Thomas Laurent and Pierre Ragues were just 0.232s adrift of the JCDCR entry

Aston Martin Racing No. 98 car on top in LMGTE Am  The No.98 Vantage AMR of Paul Dalla Lana and Ross Gunn combined to set a best time of 1:58.356. It is a first pole position of the season for the No.98 which welcomed back Pedro Lamy to the line-up after a last-minute shuffle of AMR drivers.

Read the full LMGTE Am report HERE