Toyota Locks Out Front Row for WEC Season Finale at Bahrain
The initial stage of qualifying for the Hypercars saw the two Aston Martins leading, with Ross Gunn in the #007 setting the pace at 1:47.290, narrowly faster than his teammate Marco Sorensen in the #009 by 0.131 seconds. Kamui Kobayashi secured third fastest in the #7 Toyota, trailing Gunn by 0.210 seconds. Jean-Eric Vergne took fourth in the #93 Peugeot, while Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota was fifth.
Once the drivers warmed their tyres in the 12-minute session, faster representative laps followed quickly. Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari first recorded 1:47.949, then Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota improved it by a tenth. Vergne and Kobayashi also set strong times, with Kobayashi posting 1:47.500.
However, it was the two Aston Martins that dominated. Sorensen set a 1:47.421, but Gunn bested him by over a tenth to reclaim the top time with 1:47.290.
Two championship contenders advanced to Hyperpole: Alex Lynn in the #12 Cadillac and Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari. Other title hopefuls included Robert Kubica in the #83 Ferrari, who qualified 12th, and Kevin Estre in the #6 Porsche, who was 18th and last, 1.867 seconds behind Gunn. Estre locked up at turn 1, causing a likely flatspot and vibrations for the remainder of the session.
Antonio Fuoco placed 11th in the #50 Ferrari, just ahead of Kubica.
Ross Gunn stated, "Setting a strong lap right out of the gate gave us confidence, and the team executed perfectly to lock out the front row."
Summary: Toyota secured the front row for the Bahrain WEC season finale after a tight qualifying session dominated by Aston Martins, with strong showings from championship contenders across the field.