2019 8 Hours of Bahrain

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26°1′57″N 50°30′38″E / 26.03250°N 50.51056°E / 26.03250; 50.51056

Date14 December 2019-20
LocationSakhir
Duration8 Hours
Bahrain 2019 BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain
Event information
Round 4 of 8 in the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship
Date14 December 2019-20
LocationSakhir
VenueBahrain International Circuit
Duration8 Hours
Results
Laps completed257
Distance (km)1390.884
Distance (miles)864.291
LMP1
Pole position
Time1:42.979
TeamSwitzerland Rebellion Racing
DriversBrazil Bruno Senna
France Norman Nato
Winners
TeamJapan Toyota Gazoo Racing
DriversUnited Kingdom Mike Conway
Japan Kamui Kobayashi
Argentina José María López
LMP2
Winners
TeamUnited Kingdom United Autosports
DriversPortugal Filipe Albuquerque
United Kingdom Philip Hanson
United Kingdom Paul di Resta
LMGTE Pro
Winners
TeamUnited Kingdom Aston Martin Racing
DriversDenmark Marco Sørensen
Denmark Nicki Thiim
LMGTE Am
Winners
TeamGermany Team Project 1
DriversNetherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
Netherlands Larry ten Voorde
United States Ben Keating
The race winning #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid seen at the 2018 6 Hours of Fuji

The 2019 8 Hours of Bahrain, formally known as the 2019 BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain, for sponsorship reasons, was an endurance sportscar racing event held on 14 December 2019, as the fourth round of the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship. This would mark the return of the FIA WEC to the Bahrain International Circuit for the first time since 2017, and would also be the inaugural running of the race, in an extended 8 hours format, having previously been run as the 6 Hours of Bahrain.

The race was won overall by the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid run by Toyota Gazoo Racing, and driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and José María López. The trio had benefited from the opening lap collision at Turn 2, between the front row starters, the #1 Rebellion R13 run by Rebellion Racing, and the #5 Ginetta G60-LT-P1 run by Team LNT, to take the lead from the first lap of the race, from fourth on the grid.

The Le Mans Prototype LMP2 class was won by the #22 Oreca 07 run by United Autosports, and driven by Paul di Resta, Philip Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque. The trio had also benefited from the opening lap chaos, with the car holding the class lead on lap one, and even running second overall at one point, but later falling down the overall order, as the LMP1s climbed their way back up above the secondary class runners during the race.

The provisional calendar for the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship was unveiled at the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone, featuring eight races, on five continents, starting at Silverstone in September 2019 with a four-hour race, and ending with the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2020. It was noted that for first time in the FIA World Endurance Championship, 4 and 8 hour races would be introduced, at the Silverstone Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, and the Bahrain International Circuit, following a fan survey which was conducted by the championship[1][2][3][4] despite there being an overwhelming preference being shown for races with durations of 6, 12 and 24 hours.[5]

Entry list

A provisional entry list was issued on the 12th of November 2019,[6] with 31 cars split across 4 classes, with all 4 full season LMP1 entrants listed, alongside 9 LMP2 cars, up from the 8 full season cars due to the addition of the #26 G-Drive Racing Aurus 01, with a driver lineup for Jean-Éric Vergne, Roman Rusinov and Job van Uitert. The GTE Classes saw no additional cars entered, with all 6 full season GTE-Pro cars, and 11 GTE-Am cars being listed.[7] Majority of the race seats were indicated to have been filled, with the exception of the 2 Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1s, and the #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR. The list also saw changes to the driver lineup for the #57 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR, with Larry ten Voorde returning for a second race, alongside Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen replacing Felipe Fraga, who would be competing in the Stock Car Brasil season finale, which clashed with the 8 Hours of Bahrain. On 26 November, Team LNT announced its driver lineup for the race, with the majority of its drivers continuing with the team, with the exception of Egor Orudzhev, who would make way for Chris Dyson, alongside a minor shakeup in the driver lineups for each car.[8] On 10 December 2019, it was announced that Khaled Al Qubaisi and Adrien De Leeneer would complete the lineup for the #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche, replacing Angelo Negao and Will Bamber.[9]

Qualifying

Race

References

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