Motor Trend Television, which usually covers only three hours of an event, will show it live and in its entirety, beginning on Saturday at 6:30 AM on the U.S. East Coast.
SAKIR, Bahrain—Toyota Gazoo Racing proved Friday evening that the team is still fighting for the Hypercar World Championship. Brendon Hartley and Nyck de Vries placed 1-2 in the hyperpole event, with Antonio Giovinazzi’s Ferrari placing third at the Sakir International Circuit. Hartley set the best time with a 1:46:714, giving his team a chance to challenge their rivals.
The WEC championship leader, the Penske Porsche #5, placed sixth with Kevin Estre at the wheel. That means Penske Porsche only needs to finish no less than eighth to claim their first championship in the drivers and constructor’s category in many years.
Proton Competition with Neal Jani took a fine fourth place, with Antonio Fuoco taking fifth in the second Ferrari 499P. The grid included Hertz JOTA Team Porsche #12 in seventh, BMW #15 in eighth, the second Penske Porsche #6 in ninth, and BMW #20 completing the top ten.
A big surprise was the early exit by both Alpine and Peugeot cars, along with the Cadillac, Hertz JOTA Porsche, and Ferrari cars, which must have started from a further back.
In the LMGT3 event, United Autosport’s entry, Joshua Cahill, took the pole with a time of 2:02:201 ahead of its second car and the AF Vista Ferrari. Iron Dames were not far as they placed fourth, with a chance to win on this circuit as they accomplished just a year ago.
The Mathey PureRxing team was put in fifth and is now champion in the class, followed by the Aston Martin Heart of America entry. The rest of this division was the second AF Vista Ferrari in seventh, the TF Sport Corvette in eighth with its sister car in ninth, and the Akkodis Lexus in tenth.
