FIA WEC: Bahrain, The Final Hour Report

A flurry of pitstops with Wolfgang Reip bringing the Greaves Zyetk in from third in class.

5:05 The #99 Aston Martin is in the garage – Is the GTE Manufacturers title in danger?

Yes! #99 is a retirement and with the AF Corse Ferraris running first and third at present that will be more than enough for Ferrari – Absolute heartbreak for the team.

It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen attrition like this!

4:16: Nikki Thiim sets the #95 car’s fastest lap of the race – the fate of the GTE Manufacturers’ title rests with his car now, as it’s the highest ranked Aston still running and will score enough points with fifth in GTE to win the title. Davide Rigon is 46 seconds behind in the 8Star Motorsports Ferrari. Hall and Campbell-Walter are still on course for the GTE Am drivers’ title.

4:18: Straighforward stops for Lotterer in the #1 Audi and Jon Martin in the #26 G-Drive Oreca, running second and third overall.

4:19: Leader pits for what should be a routine final stop – as Andre Lotterer clocks the fastest lap of the race so far on fresh tyres. A spirited end to the season from the #1 crew then, but Buemi should be able to take this one home.

4:23: #24 Oak is in the pits and has been instructed to repair a faulty headlight by race control. Buemi reports a vibration in the Toyota.

4:25: Bertrand Baguette enjoying the conditions as he sets the #35 Oak’s fastest time yet. Fourth in class will be enough to take the LMP2 drivers’ title for him, Plowman and Gonzalez.

4:35: Stephane Sarrazin: “It’s going very well – we just have to wait and be very careful in traffic. Seb was complaining about a vibration but it should be okay – we get this from time to time and it’s not a big issue.”

4:43: Things have settled into rhythm and most crews are just counting down the laps – but Olivier Pla is chasing down Bjorn Wirdheim in order to score enough points to wrest second in the LMP2 drivers’ standings from current class leaders Martin, Conway and Rusinov.

4:46: The #41 Greaves cars pits for a splash and dash, promoting Pla to second – so Pla, Brundle and Heinemeir-Hansson will take second place in the final LMP2 drivers’ standings.

4:53: A splash-and-dash for the #96 Aston Martin – Hall and Campbell-Walter’s drivers’ title is safe though as long as they keep going.

4:54: The remnants of the turn 10 bollard continues to take a pounding courtesy of Julien Canal in the Larbre Corvette.

4:59: And that’s it – the #8 Toyota takes LMP1 and the overall race win ahead of the sole remaining Audi. The #26 G-Drive Oreca will stand on the overall podium as well as triumphing in LMP2. The GTE Pro win goes to new drivers’ champion Gimmi Bruni and his co-driver Toni Vilander in their Ferrari, while the Danish trio of Thiim, Nygaard and Polsen take the GTE Am victory for Aston.

5:00: Your 2013 champions: McNish/Duval/Kristensen (LMP1 drivers), Audi (LMP1 manufacturer), Rebellion Racing (private LMP1 teams), Baguette/Plowman/Gonzalez (LMP2 drivers), #35 OAK Racing (LMP2 teams), Gimmi Bruni (GTE Pro drivers), #51 AF Corse Ferrari (GTE Pro teams), Aston Martin (GTE manufacturers), Hall/Campbell-Walter (GTE Am drivers) and 8Star Motorsports (GTE Am teams) .

Your race winners- LMP1 and overall -#8 Toyota.