Toyota locks front row in Hyperpole at Bahrain
As usual, the qualifying session delivered the 10 cars who did participate to the Hyperpole defining the position on the grid for tomorrow’s race five first rows.
Toyota in front row
Toyota scored front row for tomorrow’s Bahrain FIA World Endurance Championship season finale. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s #8 GR010 Hybrid will start from pole thanks to Brendon Hartley’s fastest lap during Hyperpole in 1:46.714. Hartley is the only driver under the 1:47 mark so far this race weekend.
With the point clinched for pole, Toyota reduces the deficit to Porsche in the manufacturers’ standings to nine points. Toyota need a victory tomorrow to clinch the manufacturer’s championship.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Brendon Hartley was the fastest with #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “Big thanks to my team-mates for trusting me to do qualifying, and to the team as well for turning things around after a difficult free practice day. I didn’t quite get the tyre temperature right on my qualifying lap, but I learnt from that and in Hyperpole I really put it together. The car came alive, and the lap felt really nice. It feels great to be on pole position for the season finale. We’ve had a challenging year on car #8 so we are pushing really hard to finish on a high and win the World Championship for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Nick de Vries in sister car #7 was second fastest of the Hyperpole session in 1:47.037.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Nick de Vries in #7 Toyota during Hyperpole.
Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “This came as a little bit of a surprise for the whole team but obviously it’s a great result to be on the front row with both cars. Brendon did a great lap in Hyperpole, congratulations to the #8 car. We have an important day tomorrow because we are still fighting for both championships, so we aim to have a clean race and bring home at least one title. It’s going to be a tough fight, with a lot of tyre degradation and some fast competitors but we will do our best to come out on top.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Proton Porsche between two Ferrari follow
Third-fastest was Antonio Giovinazzi with the #51 Ferrari 499P in 1:47.080, just 0.044 seconds short of P2. Neel Jani was the fastest of the fastest of the four qualified Porsche 963 ending fourth in the #99 Proton Competition, 0.293 seconds faster than Antonio Fuoco in Ferrari #50.
📷 © Luc Warnotte. Left: Ferrari 499P #51. Center: Porsche 963. Right: Ferrari 499P #50.
Antonio Giovinazzi: « I’m fairly satisfied with our Hyperpole. We’re starting third, a strong position for this 8 Hours of Bahrain—a long and challenging race where tyre management will be crucial given the technical characteristics of this track. We have good potential to end this intense season on a high, and we’ll do our best to achieve an excellent result for Ferrari. » Source: Ferrari
Neel Jani (Porsche 963 #99): “This was my first time qualifying this year. I was completely unfamiliar with attempting a flying lap on fresh tyres and low fuel. You never practice such things in a test. Based on these conditions, I am extremely happy. Good shot: direct hit. The team did a great job in terms of preparation and setup. Bahrain is always special: the grip on a set of tyres develops very quickly and disappears just as quickly. Everything has to come together perfectly. To be so far up the grid as a private team is a strong statement.” Source: Porsche
Antonio Fuoco: « Both the qualifying session and Hyperpole were challenging, and I struggled to find the right pace. However, we still secured a good starting position. The race will be tough, but we’ll do our best to stay among the leaders and push right down to the chequered flag. » Source: Ferrari
Porsche and BMW follow
Kevin Estre and Matt Campbell were sixth and seventh in the two Penske Porsches, ahead of Norman Nato’s Hertz Team JOTA Porsche.
Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “The battle for a spot in the Hyperpole was extremely close. We ultimately made it with ninth place. In the final shootout, I changed the car slightly to better suit the track conditions using the adjustment options on the steering wheel. That worked quite well, and we qualified sixth. Our starting position for the race is okay, although we were quite far off pole position. For an eight-hour race, the pace over a single lap isn’t so critical.”
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #5): “We made it into the Hyperpole with both cars. Our pace was OK – but that was about it. We couldn’t quite match the pace of the frontrunners. Conditions were tough. It felt completely different to the previous day. We’ve now secured solid starting positions and a long race ahead of us.”
Norman Nato (Porsche 963 #12): “Overall we had a good qualifying session. We were right in the mix and it’s always good to get through to Hyperpole - that’s been really tough this season and I think we were the fastest Porsche. We finished Hyperpole P8 but to be honest I thought we could have done more and finished higher - we’ve been struggling a little this season to really maximise on our performance in Hyperpole. That said, we’re in a good position to fight for the race so it’s all to play for tomorrow." Source: Porsche
The two BMW M Hybrid V8s of Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns will start from fifth row.
Hyperpole Hypercars Classification
Source WEC: Hyperpole Hypercars Classification.
Timetable (CET)
Saturday 2 November
12:00-20:00: 8 Hours of Bahrain
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