After four hours of very heated racing in the 8 Hours of Bahrain, Ferrari crews currently hold the lead in LMGTE Pro and Am classes.
LMGTE Pro. After a fine start, Calado pulled into the slipstream of the race-leading no. 92 Porsche, beginning the first of a series of attempts to overtake, while Serra in fourth, bogged down by lapped cars, found himself dropping ground to the leaders. After the opening double stints by the Englishman and the Brazilian, Pier Guidi and Molina climbed aboard during one of the three Full Course Yellow phases that marked the initial stages of the race. The hard-fought confrontation with the German cars continued over the next few hours, with the protagonists employing differing strategies. The Full Course Yellow phase triggered on lap 107 allowed the no. 51 488 GTE, driven by Calado, to snatch the lead. The no. 52, in third place as the clock struck the fourth hour, took advantage of the lapped Porsche no. 92 to move up into second spot.
LMGTE Am. As usual, the opening part of the Am class race was a lively affair, given the high number of gentlemen involved on track. The Cetilar Racing-run Ferrari, starting from pole, commanded the race for many hours, alternating with both AF Corse’s 488 GTE entries; the no. 54 and the no. 83 belonging to the leader in the standings. Kessel Racing produced a fine showing thanks to some excellent stints from Andrews, while the Iron Dames’ race - up to that point a very convincing one - was marred by bad luck, with an earlier collision losing them several laps in the pits. After four hours, the Cetilar Racing-fielded Ferrari, driven by Sernagiotto, was in the lead ahead of Rovera and Kimura.