The championship leading Toyota TS040 of Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson hit trouble in the second quarter of the 6 Hours of Bahrain when a broken alternator forced the no8 car into the pits for 16 laps, dropping them down the order and 6th in LMP1. The Toyota mechanics worked tirelessly to get the car back out on track and this was achieved at the earliest opportunity.
While the no8 car hit problems the no7 TS040 of Mike Conway took control of the race, leading Timo Bernhard in no20 Porsche by 44 seconds as the clock counted past 180 minutes, with Andre Lotterer in the no2 Audi in third place.
The no12 Rebellion R-One of Nick Heidfeld was in 6th overall, two laps behind the no1 Audi of Tom Kristensen and one lap ahead of the no13 R-One of Andrea Belicchi.
In LMP2 Richard Bradley in the no47 KCMG Oreca caught and passed the no27 SMP Racing Oreca of Maurizio Mediani just as the clock hit the halfway point of the race to take the lead in LMP2. The no26 G-Drive Ligier of Julien Canal was recovering and was up to 4th in LMP2, 2 laps behind the leader.
The battle in the LMGTE Pro class continues to rage as the race approaches its half-way point, and the sight of Jörg Bergmeister’s Porsche, Darren Turner’s Aston Martin and Gianmaria Bruni’s Ferrari going side-by-side down the straight at the Bahrain International Circuit had everyone on their feet cheering. It has been truly an impressive 3-way fight for the lead which demonstrates the level of competition in the FIA WEC.
In the LMGTE Am class the No.95 Dane Train is still on course to claim the championship title, David Heinemeier Hansson and Kristian Poulsen being supported in that battle here once again by Nicki Thiim. They lead the class ahead of the No.81 AF Corse Ferrari Wyatt-Rugolo-Bertolini, who started from the back of the grid after brake issues in qualifying, and the No.98 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Lamy-Dalla Lana-Nygaard.