Aston Martin Sweeps GTE Qualifying in Bahrain

Aston Martin Racing swept both classes in qualifying for Saturday’s FIA World Endurance Championship season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain.

Darren Turner and WEC returnee Jonny Adam set precisely the same time of 1:56.953 to take AMR’s fourth pole of the season, 0.128 seconds ahead of teammates Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the No. 95 car.

Crucially, the result ensures Thiim and Sorensen retain their 12-point championship margin over the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon, who will start from fifth in class.

James Calado and Gianmaria Bruni were the best of the Ferraris in third, 0.427 seconds behind the pole time. They will share row two with the fastest Ford driven by Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx.

A last-lap effort by Pedro Lamy was enough to give Aston Martin pole in GTE-Am class as well, denying the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari a chance to put the title out of reach before the race.

Emmanuel Collard and Francois Perrodo’s average time of 2:00.227 put them in the box seat until the closing moments of the 20-minute session, when Lamy’s time put the No. 98 Vantage GTE he shares with Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda on pole for the fourth race in a row.

The Aston Martin trio now sit 25 points behind the Ferrari in the standings, but must win the race with Collard, Perrodo and Rui Aguas failing to finish if they are to win the title.

The Larbre Competition Corvette C7.R qualified third in the hands of Ricky Taylor and Romain Brandela, despite a spin from the Frenchman in the session’s only noteworthy incident.

The FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain gets underway Saturday at 4 p.m. local time.

RESULTS: Qualifying