WEC: 2023 titles to be decided in Bahrain

The 2023 FIA World Endurance Champions will be crowned in Bahrain this weekend following the season-closing Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain (2-4 November). It will also be the final race for the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories.

Three endurance titles will be decided in the Middle East including the Hypercar Drivers’ Championship and the LMP2 Teams and Drivers’ Championships. With just 15 points separating the leading No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing crew and the sister No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar and a total of 39 points available, it is still all to play for in Bahrain.

Ferrari AF Corse’s James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi, driving the No. 51 Ferrari 499P, are still in the running for the drivers’ title. Although they are 31 points behind the No. 8 Toyota, they maintain their chances should Toyota falter. With 97 points, the sister No. 50 Ferrari 499P Hypercar still has a mathematical chance of taking the title.

Thirty-six cars will tackle the 5.412-kilometer Bahrain International Circuit which has formed a round of the FIA WEC since its inception back in 2012. Bahrain is a circuit which has a bit of everything – long straights, tight corners, elevation changes and ample overtaking opportunities. It is also well-known for its high tire degradation where nearly 48% of the lap is travelled with a fully-open throttle.

Toyota has an excellent track record at Bahrain with the squad winning the previous six editions. However, a total of five different manufacturers have secured podiums this season including Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac and Peugeot so there will plenty of competition.

Porsche Penske equalled its best performance of the season during the last race at Fuji when Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor gave Toyota some tough opposition at their home race, leading almost two-thirds of the race and eventually finishing third. Porsche will be battling with Cadillac for third place in the overall manufacturer standings, the two marques separated by just five points going into the season-closer.

After a successful Hypercar debut at Monza in July, the No. 99 Proton Competition entry will bring the total tally of Porsche 963s competing in Bahrain to four as it joins the two factory-run Porsche Penske entries, as well as the Hertz Team JOTA run Porsche.

Peugeot TotalEnergies will travel to Bahrain for the second time with its pair of Peugeot 9X8 Hypercars. Nico Mueller – who missed the last race in Fuji due to an injury – returns to the team’s line-up for the final race of the year. The team are fifth in the standings, 18 points behind Cadillac.

Completing the entry list in Hypercar will be Floyd Vanwall Racing with Ryan Briscoe stepping in for Joao Paulo de Oliveira for this event alongside Esteban Guerrieri and Tristan Vautier.

Bahrain will mark the final race for the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories, which have both been a mainstay in the WEC since its inception back at Sebring in 2012.

In LMP2, Team WRT are in touching distance of the 2023 Teams’ and Drivers’ Championship trophies after the Belgian team has amassed a healthy lead of 33 points over second-placed Inter Europol Competition. The vice-champion position, however, is wide open with just one point separating second and third placed Inter Europol Competition and United Autosports. Prema Racing [two cars], Vector Sport, JOTA and Alpine Elf Team [two cars] make up the remainder of the 11-car LMP2 grid in Bahrain.

Meanwhile in LMGTE Am, Corvette Racing’s Ben Keating, Nicholas Varrone and Nicky Catsburg secured the title back in July at Monza but a win in Bahrain would see the trio set a new points record in GTE Am, beating the existing record by Aston Martin [198 points]. The No.33 Corvette currently sits on 164 points, so only a win would break the record.

Behind the 2023 champions, there are six crews covering four manufacturers [Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin] battling it out for the vice-champion position. Currently second in the general classification with 79 points is the Iron Dames crew of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting, while only 20 points separate the No. 54 AF Corse crew, the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton crew, No. 25 ORT by TF, the No. 86 GR Racing car plus the No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse crew.

Notable driver changes in LMGTE Am include Fransk Dezoteux in the No. 21 AF Corse entry with Kei Cozzolini once again driving alongside Simon Mann. Elsewhere, D’Station Racing has recruited Australian Liam Talbot to drive the No. 777 Aston Martin Vantage AMR alongside Casper Stevenson and Tomonobu Fujii. Finally, Estaban Masson will replace Scott Huffaker in the No. 57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

The on-track action is set to kick off on Thursday 2 November with qualifying taking place on Friday afternoon. The flag for the 8 hour race will be waved at 2pm on Saturday 4 November.

Entry List