[barahinwec] UPDATE: 6 Hours Bahrain WEC FIA SAT NOV 15th

UPDATED






Free Practice 3: Porsche Head into Qualifying On Top Form
Free Practice 3, Porsche Fastest, Major Dramas For Audi

Once again the #14 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid was the clear leader as rapid Swiss racer, Neel Jani set a 1m43.571s lap to lead the chasing LMP1 pack by 1.138s. Jani’s team mate Romain Dumas looked as though he was going to eclipse that time on the final alp of the session but came across traffic in the final sector.

The #7 Toyota Racing entry of Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Mike Conway placed second as Wurz set a best time of 1m44.710s in the Toyota TS 040 Hybrid.

There was more frustration for Audi Sport Team Joest as the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Tom Kristensen, Lucas Di Grassi and Loic Duval. The chassis suffered damage during yesterday’s FP2 session, which not only confined it to the pit box for the Free Practice 3 session but will also prevent it from appearing evenings qualifying. The #1 Audi will have to be scrutineered once more and only after this will it be granted allowance to race tomorrow in the 6 Hours of Bahrain. Lucas Di Grassi, as the quickest driver in the first two FP sessions yesterday must start the car tomorrow.

With track temperatures peaking at 33.3 degrees the LMP1 times were slightly slower than the cooler and more favourably quick conditions of yesterday evenings FP2 session. A five-minute slow zone period to retrieve the stranded #71 AF Corse Ferrari of James Calado also punctuated the FP3 running this morning.

In the LMP1-L class it was again Rebellion Racing who led the way with the #12 Rebellion R-One-Toyota entry of Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche setting a best lap time of 1m47.436s.

The LMP2 class saw the SMP Racing squad start to fight back as they aim to protect Sergey Zlobin’s diminishing title lead in the #27 SMP Racing Oreca-Nissan. Nicolas Minassian set the fastest lap in the category on a 1m51.524s to beat Olivier Pla’s best of 1m51.638s in the G-Drive entry. The Ligier-Nissan coupe ended the session parked at the side of the traffic when a technical problem stopped Julien Canal.

The all-important qualifying session for the 6 Hours of Bahrain takes place at 17.00 local time this evening.



The #1 crew having already undertaken an overnight rebuild into yesterday were allowed to stay at the hotel overnight and to begin the second rebuild this morning. The car will also miss qualifying but will be permitted to start the race at the tail of the LMP1 field we believe, with Lucas di Grassi instructed to start the race after setting the fastest Free Practice time.

Back to Free Practice and it was the Jani/ Dumas combo that put in a second consecutive lap in successive sessions in the 1:43s (1:43.571)., that was well over a second clear of the #7 Toyota with the #20 Porsche and #2 Audi next up.

The Rebellions comprehensively outpaced the Lotus (which required a gearbox change yesterday) 1:47.436 the best from the #12 R-One.





The FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain roars into action this weekend at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), and fans attending the mega event are in for some serious neck-and-neck racing amongst the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) competitors

(Photos are from Practice 1-3 enjoy!)
Updates are listed as follow: Newest to Oldest
Track information available below


Being the seventh and penultimate round of the season, the stakes are raised for the entire WEC field come Friday and Saturday (November 14 and 15) in the Sakhir desert.

The pressure will be most felt in the series’ premier class, the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1)-Hybrid, where three of the world’s most celebrated manufacturers will be battling it out hard for a famous victory.

Toyota Racing are currently the leaders and favourites to claim the LMP1 Manufacturers’ World Championship, but last year’s winners, Audi Team Sport Joest, will be looking to delay any title celebrations.

Porsche Team, meanwhile, will be hoping to maintain their recent good form and make some noise to finish their debut season running a Hybrid car.

"I can’t wait to get going again in Bahrain," said Toyota’s Sebastien Buemi, a former resident of the Kingdom of Bahrain who drives the championship-leading TS040 Hybrid no. 8 along with teammate Anthony Davidson.

Buemi and Davidson are also the leaders of the World Endurance Drivers Prototype Championship, and a victory in Bahrain would ensure them a fantastic double.

"Our car has been great all season so from that point of view I am optimistic," Buemi added. "It is very exciting to be leading the World Championship so close to the end of the season and the target all year has been to win both titles; I will be giving everything to achieve that."

Davidson added: "We are within touching distance of the drivers’ World Championship but I know we cannot afford to get carried away.

"Anything can happen so it’s really important we stay calm this weekend, take no risks and get the job done."

The Audi pair of Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler will be hoping to keep their rivals from clinching both crowns. Sharing the Audi R18 e-tron quattro no. 2 with third driver Andre Lotterer, Treluyer and Fassler expect a challenging battle.</font>



"This next race is a challenge," said Treluyer. "The heat in the desert and the sand on track make special demands on us. It’s not easy to optimally set up the car for these track conditions."

Fassler concurs. "Bahrain is a special race because the heat there is simply unusual for the cars and the drivers, plus there’s the sand," he said. "The track conditions constantly change. As long as we’ve still got a chance of winning the World Championship title, we’re going to battle for it."

The Porsche pairing of Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley will look to maintain their recent good form – the same that saw them clinch pole position and claim third place on the LMP1 podium in the WEC’s previous round in Shanghai, China.

Webber and Hartley hope their past experiences in Bahrain will help in their cause driving the Porsche 919 Hybrid no. 20 with teammate Timo Bernhard.

"Technically the circuit should be good for us and for our car," said Webber. "It will be interesting to see how our performance develops, especially as we have been testing in Bahrain early this year."

Hartley added: "I know Bahrain from my GP2 days and from testing with the 919 Hybrid. After the recent races have been progressively more encouraging with podium finishes and our pole position in Shanghai, we feel a bit more confident. I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be as or perhaps even more competitive in Bahrain. I’m looking forward to it."

This year’s day-to-night race is the third edition of the Six Hours of Bahrain but it will be the first time it is being held under the complete track floodlighting system of BIC.

As the WEC’s only stop in the Middle East, the kingdom’s race will be the only chance for the region’s motorsport fans to personally catch the spirit of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Apart from racing in the WEC, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and the MRF Challenge Formula 2,000 Championship, there will be plenty of off-track entertainment for the whole family.

Highlighting the weekend’s off-track entertainment programme will be a post-race concert featuring popular Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny, as well as a breath-taking pre-race stunt show performed by world-renowned Red Bull athletes Abdo Feghali and Jokke Sommer.



In addition to this, fans will be able to interact the WEC’s star drivers before they get into their cars in an autograph session on Saturday.

All this plus so much more awaits race-goers of all ages at the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain.




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