Qualifying by the numbers
With thanks to Sam Smith, here are some key stats from this evening’s Qualifying session.
Hypercar
– That was Toyota’s 23rd WEC front-row lockout
– For Brendon Hartley it was his fifth pole in the current Qualifying format. Three of those have come in Bahrain
– Toyota now has 13 poles from 19 since 2021
LMP2
– United Autosport finishes its WEC LMP2 stint with 11 LMP2 poles, 2nd most in class behind G-Drive’s 23
– Today marked Tom Blomqvist’s fourth pole in the current format, the most in LMP2
– It also marked United’s seventh pole in the 2021-now format, most in LMP2
GTE Am
– Ferrari claimed the first GTE Am pole back in 2012, Porsche the last
– The performance from Bovy made it consecutive Bahrain poles for Iron Dames, and its fifth all-time pole – all by Sarah Bovy
– For Porsche it was its 24th GTE Am pole, overtaking its GTE Pro tally of 23
GTE farewell photoshoot
Last night after Free Practice 2 the 12 GTE cars on the entry list gathered in the pit lane for a ‘farewell GTE’ group shot with the championship’s official photographers ahead of the 84th and final race for the formula tomorrow.
Corvette Racing farewell shot
Another farewell shot from this week’s event comes courtesy of Corvette Racing, which is saying goodbye not only to GTE, but to its factory programme. The entire Corvette Racing team on site gathered on the pit straight to mark the occasion.
A fourth WEC win tomorrow would give the C8.R a total of 21 victories worldwide in 82 events and close Corvette Racing’s two-year campaign in the FIA WEC with a fifth victory.
Spotted in the paddock
With the race tomorrow and the official Rookie Test on Sunday, several individuals set to be involved are already on site, including Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth (both in Lexus Racing gear) before sampling a GR010 HYBRID.
Antoine Doquin has been embedded with Corvette all week and was spotted by DSC happily chatting to one of his hosts Nico Varrone. Interestingly, Doquin will become one of the last drivers in a GTE car in an official WEC session and will become the final driver in such a session in the C8.R.
Elsewhere, Kyffin Simpson is also trackside ahead of his Cadillac Hypercar drive, as are Norman Nato (who will test with JOTA) and Thomas Preining, who will drive the #5 Porsche 963.
Former Nissan factory driver Struan Moore is here on driver management duties, as is Dario Franchitti.
Garage 59’s Andrew Kirkaldy and Chris Goodwin were also both in the paddock on business too, though that is understood not to be related to the team’s GT racing activities.
French Top Gear host and ex-Le Mans Series racer Bruce Jouanny is also in the paddock and is set to co-present the end-of-season awards ceremony on Sunday evening alongside WEC TV duo Ant Davidson and Louise Beckett.
Calado & Nielsen on Ferrari pace
Ferrari AF Corse driver James Calado described Ferrari’s struggles to find pace this week in Bahrain as “unsurprising” earlier today.
Toyota locked out the front row in Qualifying this evening, while Ferrari’s 499Ps ended up fifth and sixth on the grid. Prior to the session, Calado seemed resigned to the fact that Ferrari wouldn’t have one-lap pace to challenge for pole.
“We’ve written off one lap performance, we don’t think we can beat Toyota on one lap,” Calado said. “In the past, we could compete and get poles, but we’ve changed the car a bit to improve tire degradation and long runs.
“With the weather and red flags so far this week though, it’s disrupted our plans. Before the final practice weren’t able to complete long runs so we don’t know where we are. When you look at numbers, it’s no surprise for me. We are doing the best we can with what we’ve got.”
It’s a similar story for the drivers in the sister #50 Ferrari, who are still mathematically in the hunt for the Driver’s title but 37 points adrift from the No. 8 Toyota drivers in the standings with just 38 points available (Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovanazzi are 32 points back in the #50).
Thus, Nicklas Nielsen said he and his teammates will take a ‘wait and see’ approach to the race.
“I think under the circumstances here it’s quite difficult for us, like it was in Japan,” he told DSC. “We have to push a lot to keep up with the others now, which is making it harder for us on the tires.
“In terms of lap time, there isn’t a big difference between the two compounds available (from Michelin). In the race, I think we will see teams change between them. We saw yesterday that some used hards, some mediums, some mixed. For most of the race though I think we will see most cars use the hard tires.
“It’s going to be difficult for either car to do anything in terms of the championship,” he admitted when asked about the No. 50’s chances of fighting for the title. “Especially for us, the chances of winning are very slim. We will have to see where we are after a couple of hours. If the other car is far ahead that’s how it will end, but if there is a chance for us we will go for it.”
Estre on Porsche’s prospects
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Kevin Estre told DSC that he believes Porsche is capable of fighting for a podium finish again tomorrow, following the team’s uptick in form at Fuji last time out which saw it lead more than half of the race.
Porsche’s steps in improving the car’s impact on tyre life, he said, will play a big role in allowing it to compete in Bahrain, on what is a notoriously abrasive circuit.
“This is a race about degradation, and mostly on the rear tyres,” Estre said. “We are top three in that category, but Toyota is the best. This race will be won in that department, but if we have a good balance and execute well there’s no reason we can’t challenge them.
“We understand our car better — we control the ride better and understand the aero balance better. Since Monza, we have been better on tire life but obviously, if we are three-tenths off we will be nowhere.
“We have made a lot of steps on setup throughout the season and hopefully, the testing we do in the offseason is going to help us be on a level with Toyota and Ferrari.”
Lynn encouraged by Qualifying pace
Cadillac Racing’s Alex Lynn believes he and his teammates Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook can challenge for a podium tomorrow, following his standout qualifying performance this evening.
Lynn, driving on the hard Michelin tyres, put the Cadillac V-Series.R third on the grid for the race with a 1:47.265, scoring the GM brand its best qualifying position in its first Hypercar season.
“I think it was a really positive day,” he said. “Quickest in free practice three, long-run pace looked really strong and consolidated with P3 in qualifying. Really happy for Cadillac Racing. The main thing I think is we’re quick on one lap and we’re quick on the long run.
“I’m proud of our team and motivated to have a good day tomorrow. I’m excited to have a good race because I think we’re going to have a good one and challenge for the podium.”
Vanwall handed drive-through
The #4 Vanwall will serve a drive-through at the start of tomorrow’s race, after an incident in FP3 that saw driver Esteban Guerrieri shown on camera loosening his belts.
The WEC TV commentators assumed that this was to allow the Argentine to reach the door of the car to close it after it opened during the session. However, in his defence to the stewards, the driver stated that he had suffered cramps in the car.
The drive-through was imposed, with further advice given that the driver should seek a further medical evaluation.
The #4 was already due to start at the back of the Hypercar grid, its best Qualifying time more than a second off the slowest of the two Peugeot 9X8s in 11th.
