Brendon Hartley was over 30s clear of the field after four hours of racing at the Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday, aided by early drama for Mike Conway in the sister #7 car at the start.
Conway had started second behind Hartley’s pole-sitting team-mate Sebastien Buemi but slipped to the rear of the Hypercar pack after being pitched into a spin by Earl Bamber, who locked up under braking for Turn 1 and couldn’t prevent his Cadillac from slamming the rear of the Toyota.
Conway was able to pull off an impressive recovery drive and get back up to third by the end of the opening hour, just behind the #51 Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi.
After another stint behind the wheel of the #7 GR010 Hybrid, Conway handed over the reins to Kamui Kobayashi, who quickly passed the #51 Ferrari now driven by James Calado to reclaim second.
But by this time Hartley was already more than half a minute up the road, thanks to an impressive double stint by Buemi in the opening two hours.
If the two Toyotas are in the same order at the end of the race, Hartley, Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa will be crowned the 2023 Hypercar champions.
Behind the two GR010 Hybrids, Calado continues to hold third place in the leading Ferrari after his team-mate Pier Guidi was let through by the #50 Ferrari of Miguel Molina in the opening hour.
Source: Autosport