Twelve months ago, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado claimed the GTE title in controversial circumstances in Bahrain. This time around there was no late contact with a championship rival or any contentious calls from race control. But it was no less dramatic and certainly far more nerve-racking for the Ferrari duo as they attempted to retain their crown as well as the manufacturers’ gong for their employer.
Pier Guidi and Calado, who arrived in the Middle East with an 11-point margin over the Porsche crew of Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, looked home and dry deep into the sixth hour of last Saturday’s Bahrain 8 Hours WEC curtain-closer. Calado led the way in GTE Pro and had done since a Full Course Yellow virtual safety car fell his way at the beginning of the second hour. He jumped from fourth – courtesy of what he labelled a conservative strategy – to the race lead as a result.
