2016 WEC Bahrain
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FIA WEC Bahrain - race
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Well, I'm afraid that's it for our live coverage of the 6 Hours of Bahrain - and of the WEC season, come to that.
Here's our last race report of a truly memorable season that has been a privilege for us to cover at Motorsport.com.
We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Thanks, and good night.
Here's our last race report of a truly memorable season that has been a privilege for us to cover at Motorsport.com.
We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Thanks, and good night.
#8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18: Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis
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Di Grassi: "It's hard to speak now, a lot of emotions. But we closed it with a golden key, a pole position and a win. Great job by my teammates, the sister car and the Audi crew. I'm proud to take the four rings to the top of the podium for the last race, it's where they deserve to be."
Leena Gade, the former engineer to the #7 crew, is also in attendance to join the celebrations.
Dave Richards, head of Prodrive, shares a hug with Dr Ullrich. Every team is stood in the pits to greet the Audi crew.
Even Audi PR queen Eva-Maria Becker looks like she's welling up a bit. Not something you see every day!
Not to be outdone by Porsche, Toyota crew members are joining the Audi hand-shaking fun now.
A symbolic handshake between Dr Ullrich and Seidl, great to see.
Porsche boss Andreas Seidl in the pits now shaking hands with the many members of the Audi crew, as di Grassi brings the winning car into the pits.
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"Amazing, winning Le Mans and now the world championship. But we've suffered hard since Le Mans. After an hour we got hit and I thought 'not more bad luck'. It doesn't get any better!"
That's a jubilant Jani on his title success.
That's a jubilant Jani on his title success.
Finally, it's the #88 Porsche that comes home to win the GTE-Am class.
Trophy
Meanwhile, Aston Martin gets the job done in GTE-Pro - Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen win to clinch the class championship.
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"We brought it home!" squeals a delighted Lieb on team radio.
Rast meanwhile completes an incredible comeback for the G-Drive squad, with Albuquerque second and Lapierre third.
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And, not forgetting, the #2 Porsche team of Jani, Dumas and Lieb are world champions with their sixth place finish.
Di Grassi brings it home for that team's second win of the year, and Audi's 17th in WEC since 2012. Fassler second, and Webber third.
Chequered Flag
Chequered flag, Audi wins its final WEC race. Incredible scenes!
Audi legend Allan McNish is among the many others in the same black shirts as Dr Ullrich.
And now, the final lap.
Di Grassi starts the penultimate lap in #8. Who knows what's going through his mind right now?
Over in the Porsche garage, Neel Jani is all smiles - knowing the championship is about to come the way of him and his teammates.
Dr Ullrich sporting a t-shirt marked 'Thanks for 18 Thrilling Years!' in the pits. Five minutes left.
Duval meanwhile is looking a bit tearful in the pits, and who can blame him?
Black-and-white flag shown to Fassler for track limits abuse! Careful, Marcel...
Eight minutes left, what a fairytale race this has been for Audi.
Remember, they haven't actually won a race since Spa, having lost a number of opportunities to grab victory in the meantime.
Remember, they haven't actually won a race since Spa, having lost a number of opportunities to grab victory in the meantime.
The #44 Manor car has got going again, but not without falling to last in the LMP2 class.
It's been a bruising first season in sportscars for John Booth and Graeme Lowdon.
It's been a bruising first season in sportscars for John Booth and Graeme Lowdon.
In GTE-Pro, Thiim is nursing a 19-second lead gap to bring home the championship.
In LMP2, Cumming has slipped behind Lapierre, so ESM won't be signing off its time in WEC with a podium finish.
Fassler has cut di Grassi's lead to 21 seconds, but with only 13 minutes left on the clock, the Brazilian can afford to cruise home.
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Turn 1, Rast dives for the inside and goes through! Cue cheers from Rusinov and the rest of the G-Drive pits...
Rast is right on Albuquerque's gearbox now, remember that #26 car came from the very back of the field.
Still just 1.5s in it between Albuquerque and Rast for the LMP2 class win.
Lapierre meanwhile has 22 minutes to close 15 seconds on Cumming for third.
Lapierre meanwhile has 22 minutes to close 15 seconds on Cumming for third.
Pit Stop
Dumas brings in the #2 Porsche for its last stop, and it's Lieb who will take the car across the line to clinch the title.
Cumming rejoins in third, and his challenge now will be to hold off Lapierre and take the final step on the podium.
Albuquerque will take the lead here, with Rast going into second.
Pit Stop
Cumming brings in the leading LMP2 with 27 minutes left.
Pit Stop
Buemi brings in the aforementioned #5, and stays aboard for the last stint.
Di Grassi's lead gap is back out to 25 seconds over Fassler, with the yet-to-stop #5 Toyota a minute behind in third.
Mechanical problem
Looks like Lynn and the #44 Manor are in trouble...
Pit Stop
In comes Bernhard, and now, with 35 minutes to go, it's Webber's turn to take the wheel for the final time in his career.
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