Bahrain Quali - Toyota Claims Hyperpole with 1-2 Finish, Same for United McLaren's

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The last Qualifying session of the 2024 season is in the books! 

Needing many things to go their way tomorrow, Toyota Gazoo Racing secured the all-important bonus point by claiming a Hyperpole victory and going 1-2 for the start of tomorrow's race.

Hypercar 

It was Toyota throwing down the gauntlet and letting everyone know that the battle for the Drivers' and Manufacturers' championships is on like Donkey Kong. Needing every last point they can manage, TGR pulled off the 1-2 finish to lock out the front row of tomorrow's race. 

The Porsche Penske No. 5 and No. 6 had a clear track to try and pull it off a last second steal job, but the best they could ultimately manage was P6 and P7.

Coming off a BOP adjustment just a few days ago, it's a tough pill to swallow for the PPM gang because you know deep down/out loud they'll be lamenting the last-second changes that gave TGR and the Ferrari some extra power as well as a weight decrease. 

No doubt the biggest disappointment to come out of Hypercar qualifying was Peugeot being unable to deliver on the fastest times that they set in FP1 and FP3 as they posted times at the bottom of the table - P15 for the No. 94 and P17 for the No. 93.

Another discouraging session was put in by the Alpine duo, as Mick Schumacher went way wide coming out of his last flying lap to wipe away what could've been a representative time and ultimately placing him last on the grid in P18. The No. 35 came in P14.   

TeamDriverTimer
Toyota Gazoo81:46.714
Toyota Gazoo70.323
Ferrari AF Corse510.366
Proton990.520
Ferrari AF Corse500.813
PPM60.828
PPM50.916
Hertz Team Jota121.236
BMW WRT151.256
BMW WRT207.850

LMGT3

The No. 95 posted back-to-back best times in the opening round and then again in Hyperpole to secure the honors, while the No. 59 sister car finished just .002 seconds behind to secure P2.

In what is shaping up to be their last race with the Lamborghini Huracan the Iron Dames pulled off a P4 finish and slotted just ahead of the Manthey PureRx Porsche, the car that they're likely to take over for next season in 2025.

In addition to the dual McLaren showing for Hyperpole, we also saw both Vista AF Corse Ferrari's and both TF Sport Corvette's place inside the top 10. The No. 55 secured P3, the No. 54 snagged P7 and the No. 81 and No. 82 finished P8 and P9, respectively. 

TeamCarTime
United Auto952:02.201
United Auto590.002
VIsta AF Corse550.166
Iron Dames850.435
Manthey PureRX920.519
Heart of Racing270.748
VIsta AF Corse540.832
TF Sport810.924
TF Sport820.975
Akkodis ASP781.068

(photo via ToyotaGazooRacing.com)


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