The 6 Hours of Bahrain, the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, ended with third place for the 488 GTE crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado. The final result was conditioned by the power reduction due to the Balance of Performance announced on the eve of the race. In the LMGTE Am class, no Ferrari crew made the podium for the first time this season.
LMGTE Pro. In a race with no thrills or surprises, apart from three Full Course Yellows which did not allow any radical changes in the standings, and with a predictable outcome, the two AF Corse 488 GTEs driven by Pier Guidi-Calado and Molina-Serra completed the six hours in third and fourth position. The two Ferraris raced in tandem at the same pace, gradually losing ground to the Porsches of Estre-Jani, the winner of the race, and Bruni-Lietz, who easily controlled the pace, leaving the Ferraris more than 35 seconds behind at the finish line, despite an extra stop. This result wiped out the 51’s advantage going into Bahrain, and now Pier Guidi and Calado are only a length ahead of Estre-Jani. However, Ferrari now has to chase Porsche, one point ahead in the constructors’ championship.
LMGTE Am. The fifth final position secured by the championship leaders, François Perrodo, Nicklas Nielsen and Alessio Rovera, despite an impeccable outing, reduces the AF Corse crew’s advantage over their closest pursuers – the race winners, Fraga-Pereira-Keating in an Aston Martin – to 21.5 points ahead of the last race. This result was also affected by the reduction in power and the performance ballast based on the results achieved so far, with three victories, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Four Ferraris occupied the positions from seventh, with the #54 of Flohr-Fisichella-Castellacci, to tenth with the #47 of Cetilar Racing of Lacorte-Sernagiotto-Fuoco. In between came the 488 GTE of the “Iron Dames” Legge-Frey-Bovy, who had a solid run, and the Kessel Racing car with Kimura-Andrews-Jensen at the wheel. The second Iron Lynx car, which had secured pole position with Mastronardi, was forced back to the pits for a few laps after a contact in the early stages, finishing in twelfth.
Appointments. The season's last race will be decisive for the destination of the world titles up for grabs in the LMGTE Pro and Am classes. The 8 Hours of Bahrain, which will award extra points, will be run on Saturday 6 November, in the same format used for today’s 6 Hours, starting at 2pm local time.