24h Le Mans
The start at the 8 Hours of Bahrain will be given on Saturday 12 November at 14:00 local time. Here's everything you need to know about the last race of the 2022 FIA WEC season.
The upcoming final round of the 2023 FIA WEC season at Bahrain is a must-watch for several reasons. The Drivers titles in each of the four classes are still up in the air. In the Hypercar Manufacturers running, Toyota carries a 26-point lead on Alpine, seemingly on its way to keeping the crown. In the Drivers trophy race, trios Hartley/Hirakawa/Buemi and Negrão/Vaxivière/Lapierre both have 121 points! Kamui Kobayashi, #7 driver and Team Principal: “We go there having reached two of our main targets this season, we won Le Mans and at Fuji Speedway. But we still have big goals to achieve this year and we want to win both World Championships in Bahrain. It has been a close fight all season so it will not be easy."
Philippe Sinault, Alpine Elf Endurance Team Principal: "We already had a great season and have something to compete for in the season finale in Bahrain. Had we known this at the beginning of the year, we would've been delighted. It is a real opportunity, and I feel a huge excitement and momentum in the team about what is at stake. Everyone is preparing and ready to put their heart into this final battle."
Ferrari is leading the GT Manufacturers championship classification, but only by one point on Porsche. As for the GT Drivers running, the title is up for grabs between duos Pier Guidi/Calado and Estre/Christensen separated by just 11 points.
The LMP2 crown is all but promised to the drivers of the #38 ORECA 07-Gibson: António Félix da Costa, Will Stevens and Roberto González, and TF Sport is well-positioned to win the GTE Am Teams trophy over Northwest AMR.
Click here for the various provisional classifications.
The 8 Hours of Bahrain entry list boasts a field of 37 cars: five in Hypercar, 14 in LMP2, five in LMGTE Pro and 13 in LMGTE Am.
Note that Nico Müller will replace James Rossiter at the wheel of Peugeot TotalEnergies' #94 Peugeot 9X8.
With a start time of 14:00 locally, drivers will cross the finish line at the 8 Hours of Bahrain at night. This is a new undertaking for the Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar. Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport Technical Director: "Up until now, we've only done six-hour races. At Sakir, it will be eight. The circuit is very demanding on tyres, not to mention the varying temperatures we'll have to contend with in the desert." Peugeot conducted tests this past summer in preparation for the temp fluctuations and tyre wear expected at Bahrain. The French constructeur will rely on the results and analyses garnered in the Monza and Fuji rounds to aim for a podium finish this weekend.
The 8 Hours of Bahrain will mark the last race for cars in the LMGTE Pro class. To honour the occasion, Porsche GT Team's #91 and #92 Porsche 911 RSRs will sport a special livery featuring stripes in red, blue, pink, black, gold and gray on the front, sides and rear fenders. On the windscreen is inscribed the term "au revoir" in bold letters. The marque's 16 class wins since 2013 are immortalised on the spoiler, and on the roof are listed the names of every factory driver over the last decade as well as "au revoir" once again.
Though the season will officially come to a close on Saturday evening, the annual Rookie Test is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon. Lilou Wadoux is expected to take the wheel of this year's title-winning Hypercar. Doriane Pin is set to drive the LMP2 title-winner and Peugeot will put several young talents to the test: German driver Maximilian Günther (age 25), Danish driver Malthe Jakobsen (age 19), Frenchman Yann Ehrlacher (age 26) and the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (age 30).
For more info, go to the official FIA World Endurance Championship website.
