The season’s final race–the Eight Hours of Bahrain-will happen today.
SHAKIR, Bahrain—On Friday, Toyota Gazoo Racing edged ever so closer to taking their 2022 World Endurance Championship. New Zealander Brendon Hartley set a blistering pace in qualifying with a time of 1:46:800 to lead the number eight car along with teammates Kamui Kobyaschi and Sebastian Buemi Friday in preparation for the Eight Hours of Bahrain.
The Total Energies Peugeot team, led by Paul Di Resta, came in second, and the number seven Toyota team with Mike Conway at the wheel finished third. The second Peugeot of Gustavo Menezes was fourth, while the Alpine entry led by Frenchman Matthieu Vaxiviere was a disappointing fifth.
In the LMP 2 category, another Frenchman, Norman Nato, drove his WRT entry to the fastest in his class with a time of 1:50:330 ahead of the 38 JOTA, driven by Will Stevens. There were many chances for other drivers to take the pole, and Felipe Albuquerque was one. However, he was disqualified for exceeding track limits. Nevertheless, Albuquerque ended up in third for his team.
Porsche had their last hurrah in the final race for the GTE PRO series by posting Gimmi Bruni with the quickest time in this class, clocking a 1:56:143 just ahead of rival Antonio Fuoco in his AF Corse Ferrari. Third was Michael Christensen in the second Porsche. That finish could give the team an excellent chance to grab the title after a disappointing finish in 2021 when Ferrari grabbed the title at the very last moment.
With Ben Keating and his TF Sport Aston Martin close to claiming the championship in the GTE AM division, the American was outclassed by Belgian Sarah Bovy, who claimed her second seasonal pole with a 1:59:186 best time. In third was the Dempsey-Proton Porsche, driven by Christian Reid.
The final race in the championship will take place at 14:00 hours local time and will be broadcast on many stations worldwide, in addition to the WEC app.
