Toyota on pole in Bahrain

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s three-time Le Mans-winning TS050 HYBRID will start its final race from pole position after Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López landed the first blow in Bahrain in the fight for the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship drivers’ title.

The three #7 TS050 HYBRID drivers earned a point for pole position, reducing the deficit in the standings to six, thanks to a two-lap average of 1min 40.747secs in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the eighth and last race of the season. 

World Championship leaders Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley, whose #8 TS050 HYBRID has a theoretical 0.54secs success handicap penalty this week, were 0.751secs behind in second, ensuring an all-TOYOTA front row. 

With the teams’ World Championship already confirmed for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and the other LMP1 competitors skipping the Bahrain race as a result, all eyes are on the battle for the drivers’ title, which can be won by either TS050 HYBRID car crew with victory on Saturday. 

Following two daytime practice sessions earlier today, held in bright sunshine and with air temperatures of 27°C, qualifying began at 6.30pm local time, long after sunset at the Bahrain International Circuit. 

When the lights went green at the start of the session, Brendon headed straight on to the track for his single flying lap in the #8, while Mike bided his time in the #7, waiting in the pit lane for a few minutes before setting what turned out to be the fastest lap of the qualifying. 

Neither TS050 HYBRID took new Michelin tyres for the second laps, preferring instead to conserve a new set for the eight-hour race tomorrow, when tyre degradation in the Bahraini heat will be a factor. 

The #8 was first out on track again, with Kazuki taking the wheel and completing a clean lap to secure a front-row starting spot for the #8, while José completed the job for the #7 crew, earning their third pole position of the season and the ideal place from which to begin Saturday’s season-defining race.