CONWAY, LOPEZ AND KOBAYASHI BECOME 2021 FIA WORLD ENDURANCE DRIVERS CHAMPIONS AFTER THRILLING FINALE IN BAHRAIN
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose-Maria Lopez take back-to-back WEC titles and are first ever Hypercar champions after finishing second in the BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain behind their Toyota teammates Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima.
Porsche and Ferrari play out a dramatic finale with neck and neck battle for the entire eight-hour race. The #51 Ferrari finishes ahead of the #92 Porsche, with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado as the provisional FIA World Endurance GTE Driver Champions and Ferrari as Manufacturer World Champions.
In LMP2 Team WRT take third consecutive win to seal LMP2 title in their debut season. Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi are crowned champions. Racing Team Nederland takes first-ever LMP2 Pro/Am title after fourth win of the season, with Frits Van Eerd claiming the driver’s crown.
Francois Perrodo, and Nicklas Nielsen successfully defend their LMGTE Am title, with Alessio Rovera also becoming LMGTE Am drivers champion in his debut season in the n#83 AF Corse Ferrari.
HYPERCAR
Toyota Gazoo Racing take second consecutive 1-2 in Bahrain as #8 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Jose-Maria Lopez and Brendon Hartley take third victory of the season. Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima takes the chequered flag in emotional finish to his last race with the team as a driver.
The #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose-Maria Lopez finish second and seal 2021 title. The #36Alpine ELF Matmut take fighting third place in Hypercar after losing time due to gear selector issues early in the race.
LMGTE PRO
A tooth-and-nail fight rages over the entire 8 Hours of the race as #92 Porsche 911 RSR and #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo battle. Each take turns leading the race as gap reduces in last hour as Alessandro Pier Guidi reels in Michael Christensen during fascinating battle.
Dramatic conclusion comes in final stages as Pier Guidi hits the back of Christensen and sends the Dane spinning. Pier Guidi then ordered to give position back but when Christensen pits for a splash of fuel, the Italian follows suit. Pier Guidi holds on to take the chequered flag.
The #52 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Miguel Molina and Daniel Serra takes third position ahead of #91 Porsche 911 RSR of Gimmi Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki.
The results remain provisional after the competitor, Porsche GT Team, announced its intention to appeal Stewards Decsion no34
LMP2
Team WRT win third race of season as Ferdinand Habsburg, Robin Frijns and Charles Milesi takes title in style as the Belgian team heads home chief title rivals, Roberto Gonzalez, Anthony Davidson and Antonio Felix da Costa in #38 JOTA.
2014 FIA World Champion Anthony Davidson concluded his 22-year racing career with a podium place alongside teammates. The #28 JOTA Oreca was third after Da Costa launched a daring move with just six minutes left of race on sister JOTA car. The United Autosports USA Oreca placed fourth at the chequered flag as Filipe Albuquerque just falls short of resting taking a podium place in the final stages of the 8 Hour race.
The LMP2 Pro/Am division is won by Racing Team Nederland as team take Pro/Am teams title and Frits van Eerd is Pro/Am drivers title winner after four wins, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in six races.
LMGTE AM
The #83 AF Corse retained their LMGTE Am title in style as Alessio Rovera, Nicklas Nielsen and Francois Perrodo win their fourth race of the season. It is Nielsen and Perrodo’s second title and they are joined by WEC debutant Rovera as 2021 champions.
The #33 TF Sport Aston Martin faced disappointment after incidents during the race wrecked their slim title chance.
Second in the race is the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche team as Matt Campbell, Jaxon Evans and Christian Ried equal best result of the season. Campbell took second spot on final lap of race, pushing out the #56 Team Project 1 Porsche. Egidio Perfetti, Riccardo Pera and Matteo Cairoli finish on the podium despite one-minute penalty earlier in race, with the pole-sitting #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari finishing in fourth place.
