WEC 2022 - 8 Hours of Bahrain: Ferrari, Calado and Pier Guidi clinch third Title
LMGTE PRO
The last LMGTE PRO race was again very intense with leader changes and a drama when championship leaders Calado and Pier Guidi’s Ferrari suffered gearbox issue.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche: Kevin Estre takes the lead with Porsche 911 RSR #92 at Bahrain.
Kevin Estre (Porsche #92) jumped from second row to take the lead at the start of the race, but was under pressure from Fuoco (Ferrari #52) who passed him after 50 minutes.
📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari: Ferrari #51 takes the lead after first FCY at Bahrain.
Fuoco, Estre and Bruni (Porsche #91) pitted before the first Full Course Yellow, whereasJames Calado (Ferrari #51) and Nick Tandy (Corvette #63) pitted under the yellow, which shook up the race’s order with Calado and Tandy vaulting up to first and second.
📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari: Ferrari #52 takes the lead after sister #52 gearbox issues at Bahrain.
Approaching halfway, Molina (Ferrari #52) overtook Tandy.
Both AF Corse’s Ferrari 488 GTE were then leading the race until, with two hours to go, after leading the race during 136 laps, the #51 Ferrari dropped to the back of the class due to a gearbox issue allowing Fuoco to take the class lead.
Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina with the #52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo finished nearly 50 seconds clear of the #64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner.
📷 © Courtesy of Corvette Racing: Corvette#64 ends second at Bahrain.
The pit work by the Corvette Racing crew and engineering strategies – both fuel and tire usage – kept the team in contention throughout the race with the Corvette duo taking the lead a couple of times. It is the #64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R pairing’s third podium finish of the season and second runner-up result, the first coming in the season-opening 1.000 Miles of Sebring.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche: Porsche 911 RSR #92 ended third at Bahrain.
Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen ended third in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 ahead of sister #92 with Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche: Porsche 911 RSR #91 ended fourth at Bahrain.
📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari: Calado, Pier Gui and Ferrari clinch both championships at Bahrain.
With fourth gear unavailable, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi nurtured the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo to fifth in class, earning points to win a second consecutive title by two points over the #92 Porsche duo. Both AF Corse’s Ferrari clinch Ferrari’s second consecutive Manufacturers FIA World Endurance Championship.
LMGTE AM
Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy with the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari 488 GTE Evo led 129 laps of the race from pole, only losing the class lead to #71 Spirit of Race Ferrari (20 laps) and #54 AF Corse (29 laps).
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche: Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR #46 wins LMGTE AM class at Bahrain.
With less than 90 minutes to go, Matteo Cairoli (#46 Porsche) passed the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari of Rahel Frey during one lap who took it back for 6 laps.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche: Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR #56 ends 2nd LMGTE AM class at Bahrain.
Later, it was to Ben Barnicoat (#56 Porsche) overtaking Gatting’s Ferrari #85 to take P2 allowing a 1-2 finish by the Team Project 1 squad with #46 Porsche of Matteo Cairoli, Niki Leutwiler and Mikkel O. Pedersen winning the class ahead of #56 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Ben Barnicoat, PJ Hyett and Gunnar Jeanette.
📷 © Courtesy of Iron Lynx: Iron Dames finish third in LMGTE AM class at Bahrain.
Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy with the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari 488 GTE Evo ended third of LMGTE AM class. This third consecutive podium means the Iron Dames finish the season third in the FIA World Endurance Championship standings.
📷 © Courtesy of Iron Lynx: Iron Dames finish third in the GT FIA World Endurance Championship.
Keating, Chaves and Sorensen’s #33 TF Sport’s Aston Martin finished fourth in class, which was enough for the Driver’s and Teams Trophies.
Their rival for the title #98 NorthWest AMR ended fifth in the race with Paul Dalla Lana, David Pittard and Nicki Thiim.
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