Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi clinched the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) drivers title on a mixed day for two Toyota cars at the Six Hours of Bahrain.
While the #7 TS040 Hybrid driven by Wurz/Sarrazin/Conway celebrated their first ever victory of the season, its sister car was detained in the pits for over 30 minutes due to a problem with its alternator. With 16 laps lost in the garage, the duo finished outside the points in the overall classifications.
However, with their closest rival - the #2 Audi of Le Mans winners Lotterer/Fassler/Lappierwell - not finishing in the top two - as was required to keep the title race alive for the season finale in Brazil, the British-Swiss driver pairing celebrated their first crown in the pinnacle of sports car racing.
Porsche had their best outing of the season with both cars making it to the podium. The #14 919 Hybrid, which took second, led home its sister car by seven seconds in the six hours race
KGMG TAKE SECOND VICTORY IN WEC LMP2 CLASS
Sergey Zlobin looked on course to extend his lead in the drivers championship in LMP2 category before his race turned from bad to worse in the closing stages. After being handed a stop-go penalty for making contact with Audi’s LMP1 entry, his SMP car developed engine problems, relegating him to fifth and last in the class.
With challenge from Zlobin subsiding, KCMG’s Matthew Howson, Richard Bradley and Alex Imperatori took their second victory of the season. The G-Drive entry of Olivier Pla, Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal took the lead in the standings with a third place result at Sakhir. The trio have been dominant all season long, having won four races in seven attempts. However, a poor result at the double points Le Mans worked against them.
FERRARI AND ASTON MARTIN SEAL TITLES IN WEC GTE CATEGORY
Ferrari and Aston Martin took the manufacturers crown in GTE Pro and GTE Am respectively after Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni won in its class for the the Italian brand and David Heinemeier-Hansson, Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thim took the top spot on the podium for the British luxury car manufacturer.
FIA WEC SIX HOUR OF BAHRAIN - TOP FIVE
1. Wurz/Sarrazin/Conway Toyota TS040 Hybrid 195 laps
2. Dumas/Jani/Lieb Porsche 919 Hybrid 195 laps
3. Webber/Hartley/Bernhard Porsche 919 Hybrid 195 laps
4. Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi Sport Joest R18 e-tron 194 laps
5. Kristensen/Duval/di Grassi Audi Sport Joest R18 e-tron 193 laps
6. Leimer/Belicchi/Kraihamer Rebellion Lola B/12 Toyota 188 laps
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