The #7 Toyota GAZOO Racing claimed the overall win at the 6 Hours of Bahrain after an exciting display of action, drama and endurance.
As the end of Round 5 ensued, it was a mixture of fights and dominance across the whole field.
At the fifth hour, the gap between the leading #7 and the second-placed #8 grew after the latter car had a troubled pit stop, struggling with the front-left tyre change.
One of the intense battles included the United Autosports and JOTA teams.
First up, it was a duel between Filipe Albuquerque and Tom Blomqvist (#28) for second place.
Elsewhere in LMP2, the #34 pitted several times when the left door would not remain shut, thus cost them during their Pro/Am victory endeavours.
Into the final hour, GTE-Am delivered on a fight between the #98 and #56 for second place, as Marcos Gomes and Matteo Cairoli went side-by-side to mark the battle both unpredictable and exciting.
Returning to LMP2, the #22 continued its efforts until Blomqvist made a move at Turn 1. Also an event in LMP2, was the sensor issue on the #21 which pushed them down the order due to pit stop/garage time.
With 40 minutes left, the #56 found itself attacking the #77 of Matt Campbell in the fight for second place, a duel which became intense before the two established a gap.
The #22 continued its efforts to retain the final podium spot, but it was struggling against the likes of Antonio Felix Da Costa in the #38 who had fresher tyres on the left side, as opposed to a full double-stinted set on the United.
Da Costa passed his fellow compatriot at Turn 1 to help the JOTA team have two cars on the podium.
Up ahead, the #7 Toyota crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez charged to victory ahead of the #8.
This finish secured the Hypercar Team’s Championship title for Toyota GAZOO Racing, but the drivers’ titles are still up for the taking between the two crews.
In LMP2, the #31 of Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi propelled themselves to the LMP2 lead in the standings after claiming a consecutive victory – after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Porsche dominated in GTE-Pro as the #92 duo of Kevin Estre and Neel Jani landed the win to bring the fight against Ferrari towards next weekend’s finale.
The #33 TF Sport of Ben Keating, Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga took the victory in GTE-Am.
Only eight hours of racing are left for Season 9 as the remaining title fights will be decided at next weekend’s 8 Hours of Bahrain finale.
| OVERALL POSITION | TEAM |
| 1 |
#7 Toyota GAZOO Racing [HYPERCAR] |
| 2 |
#8 Toyota GAZOO Racing [HYPERCAR] |
| 3 |
#36 Alpine Elf Matmut [HYPERCAR] |
| 4 |
#31 Team WRT [LMP2] |
| 5 |
#28 JOTA [LMP2] |
| 6 |
#38 JOTA [LMP2] |
| 7 |
#22 United Autosports [LMP2] |
| 8 |
#29 Racing Team Nederland (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 9 |
#1 Richard Mille Racing [LMP2] |
| 10 |
#70 Realteam Racing (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 11 |
#20 High Class Racing (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 12 |
#34 Inter Europol Competition (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 13 |
#92 Porsche GT Team [GTE-PRO] |
| 14 |
#91 Porsche GT Team [GTE-PRO] |
| 15 |
#51 AF Corse [GTE-PRO] |
| 16 |
#52 AF Corse [GTE-PRO] |
| 17 |
#33 TF Sport [GTE-AM] |
| 18 |
#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 19 |
#56 Team Project 1 [GTE-AM] |
| 20 |
#98 Aston Martin Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 21 |
#44 ARC Bratislava (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 22 |
#83 AF Corse [GTE-AM] |
| 23 |
#86 GR Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 24 |
#54 AF Corse [GTE-AM] |
| 25 |
#85 Iron Lynx [GTE-AM] |
| 26 |
#57 Kessel Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 27 |
#47 Cetilar Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 28 |
#777 D’station Racing [GTE-AM] |
| 29 |
#60 Iron Lynx [GTE-AM] |
| 30 |
#21 DragonSpeed USA (Pro/Am) [LMP2] |
| 31 |
#88 Dempsey-Proton Racing [GTE-AM] |
