Brendon Hartley pulled out a fantastic lap of 1:46.800 to put the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid on pole in qualifying for the 8 Hours of Bahrain. The Kiwi’s time was 0.8s fastest than his nearest challenger.
Peugeot continued their improving form in the Gulf by securing a front-row spot on the grid for Saturday’s season finale. Paul di Resta was given driving duties in the #93 Peugeot 9×8 and posted a fastest time of 1:47.610 in the ten-minute session.
The #7 Toyota will start the race from the second row alongside the #94 Peugeot, with the #36 Alpine down in fifth.
Bruni hits the spot for Porsche in title showdown
Gianmaria Bruni secured what could prove to be a vital extra point for Porsche GT Team by putting his Porsche 911 RSR on pole for Saturday’s race. The Italian’s time of 1:56.143 was just over two tenths quicker than fellow front-row starter, the #52 AF Corse Ferrari.
Row two will also be a Porsche-Ferrari affair, with the #92 going third fastest in qualifying and the #51 machine fourth-fastest.
Porsche now go into the final round of the 2022 season with a tiny one-point advantage over Ferrari in the last-ever FIA World Endurance GTE Manufacturers’ Championship.
Realteam by WRT with maiden pole
Norman Nato handed Realteam by WRT pole position in the LMP2 category with a fastest time of 1:50.330. It will be the first time that the #41 squad have started a race from pole in the 2022 season.
Only a couple of tenths further behind in qualifying were Will Stevens and Filipe Albuquerque in the #38 JOTA and #22 United Autosports USA entries respectively. The #38 machine will start from the front row as the British squad look to secure the LMP2 title by finishing sixth or higher.
Second pole of the season for Iron Dames
On the back of successive podiums in Monza and Fuji, the #85 Iron Dames crew picked up where they left off in Bahrain. Bronze-rated driver Sarah Bovy was the quickest in class for the #85 Ferrari, half a second ahead of Ben Keating in the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin.
The full list of qualifying results is available here.