Brendon Hartley has put Toyota Gazoo Racing on pole position for the Six Hours of Bahrain.
Hartley posted a 01:47:049 aboard the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid to go fastest overall, beating out team-mate Kamui Kobayashi by just under four-tenths of a second.
It marks the first time the #8 Toyota has started a WEC race from pole position since the Six Hours of Fuji in October 2019, when Hartley also took pole position.
Both Toyotas remained well clear of the #36 Alpine A480-Gibson in third place, which posted a 01:48:003 with Andre Negrao behind the wheel.
Blomqvist on LMP2 pole, struggles for Team WRT
Championship leaders JOTA took the class pole in LMP2 and also saw their result bolstered by a disappointing result for title rivals Team WRT.
Tom Blomqvist put the points-leading #28 ORECA 07-Gibson on pole with a best time of 01:49:665. The team even briefly looked on course for a front-row lockout, until a late flyer from Filipe Albuquerque saw the Portuguese ace put the #22 United Autosports ORECA second in class.
He beat out out compatriot Antonio Felix da Costa and demoted him to third in the process, ahead of Realteam Racing’s Loic Duval in fourth.
While Blomqvist, who together with Stoffel Vandoorne and Sean Gelael leads the LMP2 standings, will start the race from the front, title rival Team WRT will start eighth in class.
The Belgian squad, only a point behind JOTA in the standings, sent Charles Milesi out for qualifying in the #31 ORECA. The French youngster, who had been on pole once before this season in Monza, looked set for a front-row start until his fast lap was deleted for a track limit infringement.
He did manage to put in another lap but qualified only eighth, behind Inter Europol Competition, Racing Team Nederland and High Class Racing.
With the single point available for pole position, Blomqvist extends JOTA’s advantage over Team WRT from one to two points.
