It’s time to go racing!

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The stage is set for the start of action today in this year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

BIC will be bringing the curtain down on the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this weekend, but not before the Spirit of Le Mans comes to life in Sakhir with a packed programme of world-class racing and fun, family entertainment.

Two practice sessions each for the WEC and Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East (PCCME) kick off Thursday’s on-track sessions, all to be held behind closed doors. BIC will then open its gates tomorrow and Saturday for fans to watch endurance motorsport’s best teams and drivers go wheel to wheel in their iconic and technologically superior Hybrid cars and sportscars.

Gates are scheduled to be open from 11am to 6.30pm tomorrow and from 10.30am to 10.30pm on Saturday. Thursday’s action kicks off with the first 45-minute PCCME practice at 11.15am. It will be followed by the WEC’s opening practice starting at 12.15pm, to be held over 90 minutes.

The second PCCME practice is then scheduled for a 4.15pm start, and then the WEC runners will go out for their evening practice session at 5.30pm. This year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will be the 12th time the WEC will be racing in Sakhir, and the fifth time the event is taking place in its current eight-hour format.

Iconic

The WEC’s competing outfits, featuring 36 Hybrids and sportscars from the most iconic brands in all of global motoring, will be racing in three categories, namely the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and the Le Mans Grand Tour Enduring (LMGTE) Am.

The drivers, accompanied by members from their teams’ crews, conducted their customary pre-weekend track walk yesterday. Heading to the season-finale, four of the seven WEC titles in 2023 have already been decided.

Toyota Gazoo Racing have sealed the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship, making for their fifth title in a row. Hertz Team Jota have clinched the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, and Corvette Racing has claimed the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams.

Furthermore, the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers has been secured by Corvette Racing’s Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nicolas Varrone. Still up for grabs in Bahrain are the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship title, the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams, and the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers. Aside from the racing, the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will also have loads of family entertainment, plus a WEC-exclusive Open Paddock experience—a unique feature which allows fans to enjoy behind-the-scenes access, getting right next to the teams’ garages and possibly see some of the sport’s star drivers in person.

The colourful off-track attractions, to be enjoyed tomorrow and Saturday, are available at the BIC vending area, and they include stunt shows, a classic car show, car simulators, roaming performers, kids’ stage shows, and so much more incredible entertainment.