Porsche On Pole For Final Round Of 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (17.11.17)

Photo: fiawec.com

Nick Tandy and Neel Jani put the #1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid on pole position for the 6 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2017 FIA Endurance Championship.

Tandy lapped the Bahrain International Circuit in 1:39.683 on his fifth lap of six while Jani put in a 1:39.084 on his second lap to average 1:39.383.

The #1 Porsche took pole by .263 seconds from the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050 in which Mike Conway lapped in 1:39.517 and Jose Maria Lopez put in a 1:39.776 to average 1:39.646.

Taking the third grid slot will be the sister #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid in which 2017 Drivers Champions Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber averaged 1:40.011.

In the LMP2 class pole position was taken by the #36 Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 in which André Negrão and Gustavo Menezes averaged 1:47.277.

Photo: fiawec.com

Lining up alongside the #36 entry will be the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA 07 in which was qualified by Thomas Laurent and Ho-Pin Tung averaged 1:47.612.

Vaillante Rebellion, with its #31 ORECA 07, currently leading the LMP2 Teams Trophy standings, will be third on the grid in the LMP2 class after Bruno Senna went fourth quickest in the session with a 1:47.168 and Julien Canal put in a 1:48.275 to average 1:47.721.

AF Corse topped the time sheets in the LMGTE Pro category after Davide Rigon and Sam Bird put the #71 Ferrari 488 GTE on class pole with an average 1:56.033.

Three manufacturers will fill the top three positions on the LMNGTE pro grid after Darren Turner and Jonny Adam lapped in an average of 1:56.372 to start second in class and the Ford Chip Ganassi team UK duo of Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell circulated in an average of 1:56.463 to start third on the grid.

LMGTE Pro standings leader AF Corse, with its #51 Ferrari F488 GTE, will start from fourth on the grid.

In LMGTE Am category Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana put the #98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage on class pole, followed by the #61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari F488 GTE and the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991).

The final round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Bahrain starts at 16:00 local time on Saturday November 18.