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Until WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain
WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain
FIA World Endurance Championship
The WEC has established itself as one of the premier championships under the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the leading global series for endurance racing. It attracts countless stars in motorsport, and it continues to grow in popularity every year, with races taking place in eight countries across four continents.
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ENJOY TOP-CLASS MOTORSPORT IN STYLE AT BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT'S EXCLUSIVE HOSPITALITY LOUNGE OVERLOOKING THE PIT LANE AND GARAGES ON THE MAIN STRAIGHT. WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST EXHILARATING EVENTS OF THE YEAR, THE 2024 FIA WEC 8 HOURS OF BAHRAIN PRESENTED BY BAPCO
View MoreMax Verstappen on pole for season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at BIC
Max Verstappen on pole for season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at BIC
- Verstappen prevents front row lockout for Mercedes
- Piastri wins second F2 Sprint Race
- Guven wins Porsche first race from pole
Max Verstappen continued his dominant start to the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship this evening after clinching pole position for the season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
The Red Bull Racing ace topped all three Practice sessions over the weekend and now also set the pace in a thrilling Qualifying under the lights. He secured the leading grid position with a best lap time of one minute 28.997 seconds as the chequered flag came down on Q3.
Verstappen clinched his fourth career pole with the result. He beat defending F1 drivers’ World Champion Lewis Hamilton by just 0.388 seconds, while Valtteri Bottas followed in third, qualifying 0.589s behind, to put the two Mercedes cars in the top three.
Verstappen commented after Qualifying: “The car has been working really well and it has been enjoyable to drive. It all worked out perfectly in qualifying and of course I am very happy with pole position.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was classified fourth at the end of Q3 0.681s off Verstappen’s pace, while Pierre Gasly had a strong session for AlphaTauri, finishing 0.812s back.
The McLaren tandem of Daniel Ricciardo (+0.930s) and Lando Norris (+0.977s) followed, while Carlos Sainz (+1.218s) in the other Ferrari was eighth.
Returning two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso qualified ninth for Alpine, and Lance Stroll (+1.604s) completed the top 10 for tomorrow’s start grid for Aston Martin.
It wasn’t all cheers for Red Bull today, however, as Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez could only manage 11th on the grid.
Set to start from 12th to 20th, respectively, are Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo, Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, Kimi Raikkonen in the other Alfa Romeo, George Russell for Williams, Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Nicholas Latifi in the second Williams, Sebastian Vettel in the other Aston Martin, and the Haas tandem of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
In a stunning Q2, Ferrari were in the top two places, led by Sainz. Making surprising exits from the session were Perez and Tsunoda, who finished Q1 in second place, along with Giovinazzi, Raikkonen and Russell.
Ocon, Latifi, Vettel, Schumacher and Mazepin were earlier out in Q3.
Piastri wins second F2 Sprint Race
Oscar Piastri claimed a dramatic late victory this evening in the second Sprint Race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, supporting the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 at Bahrain International Circuit.
After Liam Lawson won the first Sprint earlier in the day, it was Piastri’s turn to take the chequerd flag and he did so on the race’s penultimate lap.
Trailing Guanyu Zhou, who led for much of the event, Piastri found an opening on lap 22 and lunged into the lead. Just a lap earlier, he overtook pole-sitter Juri Vips as he made a fantastic push to the finish.
Piastri eventually clinched the win in a total time of 46:19.610. Following a few penalties to some of the top finishers, Christian Lundgaard was the runner-up 0.774s behind. Zhou completed the podium in third place 2.076s back. Fourth through eighth, respectively, were Jehan Daruvala, Richard Verschoor, Theo Pourchaire, David Beckmann, and Marino Sato.
Following both of today’s Sprints, F2 now heads to its third and final race of the weekend on Sunday, the 32-lap Feature, starting at 1.50pm.
Guven wins Porsche first race from pole
Ayhancan Guven triumphed in the 11-lap first race of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East’s final round today, held at BIC in support of the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
Guven was victorious from pole but not without a tough fight from championship leader JB Simmenauer. Guven powered his #99 car to the win in 23:00.466, just 1.751s ahead of Simmenauer.
Richard Wagner came third to complete the overall podium 7.526s off the winner’s mark. Each of the top three were competing in the Pro class.
Team Bahrain’s Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa competing in the Am category was 10th overall. Winning the class was Maximilan Werndl, while taking first place in the Pro-Am category was Lucas Groeneveld.
BIC Chief Executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa clinched the victory amongst the Middle East category participants, while Markus Sattler was first amongst the Central Europe competitors.
The Porsche field now heads to the second race on Sunday at 3.20pm, which will be a tribute event to the late Walter Lechner, a dear friend of BIC and the Bahraini motorsport community, and the driving force in establishing the one-make Porsche championship in Bahrain.