All to play for in Bahrain

TDT | Manama                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com  

All is still to play for at the fast-approaching Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) this 11 and 12 November, as all 10 titles of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) are to be decided at the 2022 season-finale.

The endurance racing spectacle marks the culmination of the WEC’s 10th anniversary campaign and it promises to be a most exciting weekend, with all of the series’ newest champions set to be crowned at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

Two championship battles apiece are to be decided in the Hypercar, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) Pro and LMGTE Am categories, while four will be settled in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class.

Tickets continue to be available and fans are urged to purchase theirs today so as not to miss out on another extra special occasion at BIC. Tickets cost just BD5 for adults and BD2.5 for kids for the twoday weekend programme. They can be purchased online at bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000.

Hypercar

Headlining the title races are the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers and Constructors’ Championships. The drivers’ crown is being contested between the Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa / Sebastien Buemi and the Alpine Elf Team crew of Andre Negrao / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Nicolas Lapierre, all of whom are tied with 121 points.

The other Toyota Gazoo Racing team of defending drivers’ champions Jose Maria Lopez Kamui Kobayashi / Mike Conway still have an outside chance to repeat, as they are currently ranked third with 95 points.

The Constructors’ title fight sees Toyota on top with 147 points, followed by Alpine on 121 and Glickenhaus with 70 popits.

LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am

The GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship battle sees the top three contenders all within 14 points of each other.

The AF Corse pair of Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado are looking good for a title repeat as they are in first place with 120 points. Kevin Estre / Michael Christensen of Porsche GT Team are second on 109 points apiece, while Gianmaria Bruni, also of Porsche GT Team, is third with 106 points.

Ferrari and Porsche are thus the chief contenders for the GT Manufacturers FIA World Endurance Championship, heading to Bahrain just a point apart, with Ferrari leading on 216. Chevrolet are third with 75 points. The fight for the FIA Endurance Trophy for Am Drivers sees just 20 points separate the leading pair of Ben Keating-Marco Sorensen of TF Sport (123 points) from David Pittard-Nicki Thiim / Paul Dalla Lana of Northwest AMR (103 points).

Henrique Chaves of TF Sport is solo third with 95 points. TF Sport thus also lead the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE Am Teams title race by 20 points. They are on 123, followed by Northwest AMR on 103 and Dempsey-Proton Racing with 77 points.

LMP2

Four title races are to be decided in the LMP2 class.

Antonio Felix Da Costa / Roberto Gonzalez-William Stevens of JOTA are currently in pole to clinch the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers with 114 points each. Joshua Pierson / Oliver Jarvis of United Autosports USA are second on 86 points, while Realteam by WRT’s Ferdinand Habsburg / Norman Nato-Rui Andrade are third with 80 points apiece.

JOTA are thus the leaders for the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams with 114 points, with United Autosports USA in second on 86 and Realteam by WRT third on 80. The title fight for the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Pro/ Am Drivers is tighter.

Alessio Rovera / Francois Perrodo-Nicklas Nielsen of AF Corse are the leaders with 139 points, followed by the Algarve Pro Racing trio of James Allen / Rene Binder-Steven Thomas, who have 131 points apiece. The Ultimate crew of Francois Heriau / Jean-Baptise Lahaye / Matthieu Lahaye rank third with 102 points.

AF Corse (139pts) are therefore ahead of Algarve Pro Racing (131pts) and Ultimate (102pts) in the championship fight for the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Pro/Am Teams.