The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship will conclude with a title battle in Bahrain this weekend, with both driver and manufacturer hypercar crowns up for grabs.
After over 11,000km of racing across four continents over the opening seven rounds, it all now comes to a close with an eight-hour daylight-to-dark blast around the Bahrain International Circuit, which has previously hosted the FIA WEC more than a dozen times. Breathtaking battles and memorable moments set against a backdrop of dramatic desert landscapes.
The 5.412km, 15-turn layout demands up to 54 gear changes per lap and top speeds approaching 300km/h along four long straights, making it demanding for many drivers and cars alike. Up to 60% of the lap is used at full throttle, and its wide nature allows for bold overtaking maneuvers. Also noteworthy is the polishing surface, which places special emphasis on tire preservation. Especially in today’s WEC field, even the slightest error in judgment can mean the difference between a win and no score.
There have been six Hypercar winners so far this season, and the results have been unpredictable to say the least. But Porsche Penske Motorsport’s commendable consistency in the second campaign of the German-American alliance sees André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor. Head into the finale within striking distance of championship glory.
The #6 Porsche 963 crew is the only driver to win more than once this year. Three further podium finishes have left them 35 points clear of their closest rivals in the honors hunt, with 39 points remaining. That means no matter what happens, all they have to do is finish 8th this weekend to seal the deal. But in endurance racing, things are rarely that simple.
“When you think about the championship positions, you might think it’s all over, but that’s not the case!” warned Vanthoor. “It looks promising, but with 1.5 times more points won in Bahrain (due to the longer race distance) it is still a possibility.
“Last year we weren’t very strong in Bahrain, but we understood exactly why. We have an incredibly exciting weekend ahead of us and winning the championship would be an absolute dream come true for everyone on the team.”
In the manufacturer rankings, things are a bit tighter. Porsche is 10 points ahead of Toyota, while Ferrari is 17 points further behind. Toyota Gazoo Racing, winner of the last five WEC titles, boasts the most impressive record in Bahrain with an incredible 75% hit rate, while Japan’s current GR010 HYBRID has never lost at BIC. This is a statistic to give the team confidence after a disappointing 10th-place finish at their home stadium, Fuji.
Ferrari AF Corse, which successfully maintained the success of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for two consecutive years, is also the #50 499P piloted by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen. took the lead, 35 points behind. The #6 Porsche team knows that only victory is possible this weekend. The trio finished third on the podium in Bahrain 12 months ago, and all three have won on the track in GT competition, with Molina having never finished on the podium there.
Behind the headline-grabbing championship clash there is also a fierce battle for fourth place in the overall standings, with little room to choose between Alpine and BMW, who both achieved their best results of the season last time out in Japan.
Peugeot and Cadillac are also still in contention, with the latter bringing back Sébastien Bourdais to the Bahrain national team, with the four-time Champ Car champion rejoining regular duo Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber. The American automaker is eager to make good on the promise shown by Fuji’s pole position and trophy-challenging performances.
The Hypercar team’s runner-up spoils at the FIA World Cup are also at risk as Hertz team JOTA, which has secured first place at Fuji, now bids to secure first or second place in the ‘private’ standings. There is a similar scenario in LMGT3. Manthey PureRxcing has already signed the #92 crew of Klaus Bachler, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Joel Sturm, but the six-way scrap took second place.
The track session will begin with free practice on Thursday 31 October, followed by qualifying and the all-important Hyperpole from 16:00 (14:00 CET local time) on Friday 1 November. The 8-hour race starts on Sunday 2 November at 14:00 (12:00 CEST local time).
The day after the race, drivers and teams will return to the track for the traditional end-of-season rookie test, which will feature an exciting line-up including nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi in BMW’s M Hybrid V8 Hypercar.
