TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the final FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race of the 2023 season from the front after a clean sweep in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
Brendon Hartley took pole position with a lap of 1min 46.564secs in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa. Kamui Kobayashi completed a one-two for the team, 0.489secs behind in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and José María López.
“I was determined to be on pole, and I am so happy to achieve it,” commented Hartley. “The car felt great. The team did an amazing job to get all the settings right for me.
“It’s a tricky track for qualifying because you only really get one lap, so everything has to come together. My lap didn’t feel perfect but it was very clean. It is an important pole because of the World Championship point, that’s why the team put a lot of emphasis on qualifying and why we used the medium tyres.
“The point could be crucial because it means even if car #7 wins, we can finish third and still win the title. But we don’t approach the race any different to normal; we have to go for the victory. The race starts have been action packed this year so starting from pole is the place to be.”
A second pole of the season for the #8 GR010 HYBRID extends their lead in the title race to 16 points over their #7 team-mates. A podium finish for Sébastien, Brendon and Ryo in Saturday’s race will therefore guarantee they retain the drivers’ World Championship.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is already confirmed as manufacturers’ World Champions and aims to end the season in style with a seventh successive victory in Bahrain, following the team’s fifth pole, and third front row lock-out, of 2023.
After rain and high winds on Thursday, qualifying began on a warm, dry evening soon after sunset. Both GR010 HYBRIDs chose the medium compound Michelin tyres and waited three minutes in the pits before beginning their qualifying attempts. Brendon, who took pole last year in Bahrain, was the first GR010 HYBRID out on track, followed soon after later by Kamui, the lap Hypercar lap record holder at this circuit.
After warming tyres for two laps, Brendon immediately moved to the top of the timing sheets with his first flying lap while Kamui moved into provisional second place. Both set faster first sectors on the following lap but, with tyre degradation particularly high in Bahrain, soon headed back to the pits, with for the final moments of the 15-minute session.
None of the 10 other Hypercar competitors, on hard compound tyres, could get close to their pace and qualifying finished with Brendon on pole from Kamui, meaning an all GR010 HYBRID front row for Saturday’s race, which starts at 2pm local time (4pm CET).
8 Hours of Bahrain – Free Practice 3
1st #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn/Westbrook) 1min 49.512secs 29 laps
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.498secs 27 laps
3rd #99 Proton Competition (Jani/Bruni/Tincknell) +0.744secs 30 laps
4th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovanazzi) +0.939secs 30 laps
5th #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Duval/Menezes/Müller) +1.014secs 29 laps
6th #6 Porsche Penkse (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +1.229secs 30 laps
8th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2.258secs 31 laps
9th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2.746secs 30 laps
8 Hours of Bahrain – Qualifying
1st #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 46.564secs
2nd #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.489secs
3rd #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn/Westbrook) +0.701secs
4th #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +1.148secs
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +1.175secs
6th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovanazzi) +1.264secs
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