Toyota Dominates as Porsche 919’s Turn Their Final laps at the 6 Hours of Bahrain

The desert sands of Bahrain played host to the departure of an LMP1 for the second consecutive season. After clinching both the Drivers and Manufacturer’s titles two weeks ago in Shanghai, Porsche would turn their last laps in their 919 Hybrids this weekend.

The German squad claimed pole position in their No. 1 car.  Seeking their first win of the season, the crew in the pole-sitting Porsche hoped to turn their form in qualifying into the final win for the Porsche LMP1 program. It was not to be.

Continuing their recent form, Toyota dominated the 6 Hours of Bahrain.

After taking the lead in the first hour, the No. 8 Toyota of Sebastian Buemi, Anthony Davidson, and Kazuki Nakajima ran relatively unchallenged through the desert night. The win is the car’s fifth of the season.

Unable to match the No. 8’s pace, the Drivers Championship winning trio of Hartley, Bernhard, and Bamber came home second ahead of their sister No. 1 car in third.

A trip to the garage near the race’s midway point for the No.7 Toyota put the car three laps down, relegating the car to fourth place when it crossed the line.

The highlight class battle of the day was in LMP2.

When the season started, the ‘Mighty 38’ car of Jackie Chan DC Racing looked unstoppable. Nearly claiming an outright win at Le Mans in the process. Then team Vaillante Rebellion caught fire.

Storming to win at Mexico City, Fuji, and Shanghai, the No. 31 Rebellion trio of Bruno Senna, Julien Canal, and Nicolas Prost lead the Driver’s Championship heading into the race. The fight for the title was on.

Emotions were high as the time on the clocked ticked down. The No. 31 and ‘Mighty 38,’ traded the lead throughout the race. But the pace of Bruno Senna was just too much for the Jackie Chan DC Racing squad to handle.

Having logged nearly three hours of drive time, the Brazilian carried the No. 31 Rebellion to victory, claiming his first WEC title, and the first for Rebellion in LMP2.

It remains to be seen whether Rebellion will add an LMP1 car to its 2018-2019 program. Hard to imagine the taste of glory not wetting the appetite for a shot at a Le Mans overall win in LMP1. Senna might just be the man to make the difference next June.

The equally as dramatic season long fight for top honors in GTE Pro came down to the wire. AF Corse Ferrari were able to do the double as the No. 51 driver duo of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi came home second to their sister No. 71 488 Ferrari.

Claiming both the Driver’s and Manufacturers title, the rest of the GTE Manufacturers will need to work flat out in the off-season to match the pace of the Ferrari 488’s.

Aston Martin Racing cleaned up in their No. 98 Vantage winning the race comfortably. The win claimed both the Drivers and Manufacturers title for the British marque. The Drivers title win is the first for the trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda, and Pedro Lamy.

I

Due for a new car in 2018, AMR hopes to be more of a factor in GTE Pro next season.

See full race highlights below.

With the 2017 WEC season in the books, we look ahead to the prospects of the 2018-2019 ‘Super Season.’

With the mammoth prospect of Fernando Alonso joining Toyota for Le Mans and more, new LMP1 privateers, and a return to Sebring, the WEC could be on the verge of a very ‘Super Season’ indeed.

Keep it here for all the latest news and coverage. As always, follow @rob_c_14 on Twitter for WEC coverage, sub-par Gif’s, and occasionally insightful analysis.

Alonso Preparing for Toyota Le Mans Seat; Headlines this Weeks WEC News Roundup

In perhaps the busiest couple of weeks as far as endurance racing news goes, a long-awaited bombshell was dropped.

Fernando Alonso looks set to race in LMP1 at Le Mans in 2018 with Toyota Gazoo Racing. Reports have circled the Motorsports world the Spaniard visited the team’s headquarters earlier this week for seat fitting. Connecting the dots, Alonso appears likely to participate in the Bahrain Rookie test session on November 19^th, the day after the final WEC race of the season on the same track.

Alonso will race at IMSA’s 24-Hours of Daytona in January for United Autosport’s, presumably to gain endurance racing experience ahead of Le Mans and further his bid for the triple crown of motorsport.

It appears the 36-year-old two-time Formula 1 Champion is determined to give his fan’s something to follow other than the hottest meme material.

As the racing world eagerly anticipates Alonso’s inaugural endurance race in Daytona, it appears many European teams will be making the trip as well.

Rumors are swirling Jackie Chan DC racing intends to enter a pair of ORECA 07’s in the Florida race. The Chinese team are considering an entry into the four major American endurance races (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans) in what would be the busiest calendar for an LMP2 team. Currently sitting second behind the No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion in the LMP2 Driver’s Championship, the ‘Mighty 38,” and No.37 car run both the WEC and Asian Le Mans series.

In GTE news, three major manufacturer’s plans for the WEC ‘Super Season’ are coming to light. Porsche are said to be considering entering their pair of 911 RSR’s from IMSA alongside their two WEC cars. This plan would mimic Fords GT program, who have just committed to the 2018-2019 season, and add intensity to the fight in GTE.

The runners in GTE at Le Mans will face stiff competition from Aston Martin Racing who just began testing their new Vantage at Sebring. Spy camera shots show the imposes a real challenge to shake up the GTE hierarchy next season.

With no shortage of notable headlines, perhaps the most exciting nugget from endurance racing news is that Ginetta will reveal its LMP1 challenger at the Autosport International show in January. It will be the first glimpse the public can take of the car ahead of the ‘Super Season.’

With Manor and an additional unnamed team confirmed to be running the car so far, the Ginetta’s will be a prominently featured brand on the 2018-2019 WEC grid.

More confirmations of next season’s plans are expected in the upcoming week ahead of the 2017 season’s finale with the 6 Hours of Bahrain next weekend.

Keep it here and follow @rob_c_14 on Twitter for all the latest WEC, IMSA, and Motorsports news.

Toyota Wins the Day, But Porsche Toast Their Third Straight Title in Shanghai

The pair of TS050 Hybrids dominated the weekend and much of the race. Toyota ran 1-2 until the final hour when an error in the final hour by the race leading No. 7 at the hands of Jose Maria Lopez resulted in Porsche earning enough points to take their third straight Driver’s and Constructors Championship.

A questionable dive down the inside of the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR at turn 2 resulted in an incident, damaging the driveshaft and suspension of Jose Maria Lopez’s TS050.

The subsequent trip to the garage displaced the Toyota four laps behind the leading No. 8 Toyota of Sebastian Buemi. As a result, Toyota’s hopes of carrying the Driver’s/Constructor’s title fight into the final round at Bahrain was spoiled.

The win for the No. 8 marks the second on the season for the driver trio of Sebastian Buemi, Anthony Davidson, and Kaz Nakajima.

An outright dogfight broke out in LMP2. The No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion looked in the first hour to be on cruise control to a comfortable win, until the championship leading and hometown favorite ‘Mighty 38,’ of Jackie Chan DC Racing came pedaling back.

Ultimately, two spins forced by other cars while Ho-Pin Tung was at the wheel, put the No. 38 out of contention ultimately finishing fourth in class.

A stellar final stint by Nelson Piquet Jr. meant the No. 13 team would take the top step on the podium, taking over the Driver’s Championship lead by 4 points over the squad of the ‘Mighty 38.’

In GTE Pro, Ford found it’s form again taking the class win with it’s No. 67 car. The win marks the second on the season for Anthony Priaulx and Harry Tricknell. The two benefited from the No. 91 Porsche’s incident with the No. 7 Toyota in the final hour as the damage sustained by the 911 RSR took the car out of contention.

Porsche is still looking for it’s first GTE win in the WEC with the new 911 RSR.

Lacking the drama of the other three classes in action, it was the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing team taking the win in GTE Am a full lap ahead of the No. 86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911.

Eight out of nine rounds have now wrapped in the 2017 WEC season. With three Driver’s titles still on the line for the last round at Bahrain, as well as the final duel between Porsche and Toyota in LMP1, the final race of the season is set up to be a memorable one.

Keep it here for all your WEC news and race coverage.

Follow @rob_c_14 on Twitter to be sure to keep up on all the latest.

Two New LMP1 Teams for WEC 2018-2019 ‘Super Season’

The race for top honors at Le Mans for the upcoming ‘Super Season’ appears to be getting off to an early start.

Just last week, representatives from Toyota stated they were leaning towards committing to the 2018-2019 season and beyond. Their decision hinging on the finalization of the LMP1 regulations in December.

Now, in the last two days we have had announcements from two additional teams who have declared their intentions of joining the LMP1 fray.

First came an announcement by the ELMS championship winning DragonSpeed team on Tuesday, that they intend to run an LMP1 program in the upcoming WEC season. This marks the first time a US based team will contest the top category in the WEC.

Pictured: DragonSpeed Oreca/Gibson LMP2

At this moment, DragonSpeed plans on running a single car with a chassis and engine supplier still yet to be determined. The stars and strapped liveried car will see current DragonSpeed drivers Ben Hanley, and Henrik Hedman at the wheel. The third seat for the car remains open.

Not to be outdone by DragonSpeed, TRS and Manor Endurance Racing announced on Wednesday they have purchased a Ginetta LMP1 chassis and will enter the 2018-2019 WEC ‘Super Season’ as well. The purchase confirms the team anticipates making good on their plans from earlier this year. Like DragonSpeed for the US, this will mark the first time a team bearing the Chinese flag will race in the WEC’s LMP1 category.

There has been no driver announcement for the team, and the engine supply has yet to be determined. Ginetta had previously announced Mechchrome would be supplying the engines for their chassis, it remains to be seen whether Manor will use the powerplant.

The announcements ease the concerns many have over the number of LMP1 entrants. At current estimate, a conservative number of four appears all but guaranteed with at least one Toyota, an SMP/Dallara, Manor/Ginetta, and a DragonSpeed car. Additionally, Ginetta has confirmed a sale of three additional chassis for a two-car team effort. ByKolles have yet to confirm their 2018-2019 plans, but have continued testing, a strong indicator they aim to continue in the WEC.

If another team joins the grid, or if any of these single car efforts double in size, we could be looking at a ten car LMP1 grid in what had been pegged as a transition period for the top-level prototypes.

A welcome relief after months of speculation. Let’s keep this momentum going! The green flag drops for penultimate round at The Six Hours of Shanghai this weekend.

Keep it here for all your WEC coverage.