# 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez, # 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Brendon Hartley
Photo by: Toyota Racing
As predicted, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the last round of the WEC 2021, the Toyota Hypercar GR010 Hybrid achieve a bursting double, confirming once again their superiority. The winner was number 8, that of Brendon Hartley, Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi, but the team mates really celebrated.
In fact, José Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway won the 2021 Drivers World title. The crew of GT010 number 7 should only have reached the finish line in the top 3 and they did. After signing pole yesterday, today the crew settled for second place and won the title with merit.
For Lopez, Kobayashi and Conway it is an amazing double, the first of their careers, the one that led them to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the WEC title in the same season. Nice gesture from Toyota, which allowed Nakajima to cross the finish line by winning, in what was his last race with the team.
The Hypercar podium was completed – as expected – by the Gibson-powered Alpine A480 of the trio Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Andre Negrao. The crew of the French team finished behind 2 Toyota by 6 laps. In short, a race without history also due to a technical failure that stopped Alpine from the very first laps of the race.
WRT takes the LMP2 title
# 31 Team WRT Oreca 07 – Gibson: Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Sakhir was also awarded the LMP2 title, which ended up in the hands of Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi and Robin Frijns. For the crew of the WRT team it was a perfect race, topped off not only by the success in Bahrain, but also by the title that is paired with that obtained in the European Le Mans Series.
Habsburg, Milesi and Frijns have signed the third victory of the season born from a great comeback in the early stages of the Austrian and then continued in a masterly way by Frijns.
Second and third place for the Orecas of the JOTA team, with Antonio Felix Da Costa, Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez preceding Tom Blomqvist, Stoffel Vandoorne and Sean Gelael. These have thus closed in second place in the World Championship.
GTE-PRO: Ferrari party with question mark
# 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and AF Corse made it. They took victory in the premier class of GT at the wheel of the official Ferrari 488 GTE number 51 of the AF Corse team after a race in which they chased the title rivals, Neel Jani, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, added to the crew to give his support and help his teammates win the title.
Porsche 911 RSR-19 number 92 led the race until a few minutes from the end. At that point Christensen was intent on defending himself from the attacks of an unleashed Alessandro Pier Guidi. Having reached a braking point, with a prototype (an LMP2 of the United Autosports team) inside the trajectory just before a right-hand corner, Christensen braked vehemently to avoid contact with the prototype and Pier Guidi, probably surprised by his rival’s braking. , failed to avoid contact.
Ferrari 488 number 51 crashed into the Porsche, sending it into a spin. At that point Pier Guidi had the road paved towards success and the second career title together with James Calado. Not even the last stops of the treads have changed the result which, at least for now, rewards AF Corse, Ferrari and Pier Guidi-Calado.
Moments of tension at the end of the race with Neel Jani who went to Pier Guidi, intent on speaking on the official WEC television, complaining about the maneuver that decided the result of the race and the award of the title.
Third position for the second AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE, the number 52 entrusted to Daniel Serra and Miguel Molina, which preceded the Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki. Constructors’ title which ends up in the hands of AF Corse and Ferrari.
GTE-Am: AF Corse wins here too
# 83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo: François Perrodo, Nicklas Nielsen, Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Ferrari
Nicklas Nielsen, François Perrodo and Alessio Rovera took their fourth win of the season at the wheel of the Ferrari 488 GTE number 83 and also won the category title.
For the AF Corse crew it was a race without too many problems, as the Aston Martin of the TF Sport team – the only one who could have put them in difficulty in the title fight – suffered a puncture after contact with the Aston Martin Vantage GTE number 98 already on the first lap.
Ben keatong, Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga have thus seen the possibility of fighting for the title disappear immediately. Second place therefore obtained by the Porsche 911 of the Dempsey Proton team entrusted to Matt Campbell, Christian Ried and Jaxon Evans. Third place for the second Porsche, that of the Project 1 team of Matteo Cairoli, Riccardo Pera and Egidio Perfetti.
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