Situated in the desert, the impressive Bahrain International Circuit provides the challenge of a sandy and sometimes slippery track surface as well as racing into the night as the sun sets over the Persian Gulf. The circuit and heat are demanding for the drivers, the facilities are second to none, and the welcome is as warm as the weather.

Bahrain is the perfect venue to conclude the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship and here are some facts and figures about the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain, the Bahrain International Circuit and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

6 HOURS OF BAHRAIN

1. The longest race was held in 2016 with the no8 Audi R18 completing 201 laps, the first time the race distance had exceeded 200 laps. The 2016 race distance was 1087.812km.
2. Audi won in 2012 and 2016, Toyota in 2013 and 2014 and Porsche in 2015.
3. ORECA have won four of the five LMP2 races:  Pecom Racing in 2012, G-Drive Racing in 2013 and 2016 and KCMG in 2014.  Ligier won in 2015 with G-Drive Racing.
4. Ferrari won LMGTE Pro from 2012 to 2014 with Toni Vilander winning all three events.  The Finn won in 2012 with Giancarlo Fisichella and in 2013 and 2014 with Gianmaria Bruni.  Porsche won in 2015 with victory for Patrick Pilet and Fred Makowiecki, while Aston Martin were victorious in 2016 with Nicky Thiim and Marco Sorensen.
5. Porsche and Aston Martin have shared the LMGTE Am class honours.  Porsche won in 2012 and 2016 while Aston Martin took the class win in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
6. Mike Conway and Nicky Thiim are the only drivers to win the 6 Hours of Bahrain in two different classes. In 2013 Conway won LMP2 with G-Drive Racing.  In 2014 he won in LMP1 with Toyota. Thiim won the LMGTE Am category in 2013 and 2014 and the LMGTE Pro class in 2016, all with Aston Martin Racing.
7. Drivers who have won in Bahrain three times

Roman Rusinov - LMP2 2013 / 2015 / 2016

Toni Vilander – LMGTE Pro 2012 / 2013 / 2014

Nicki Thiim- LMGTE Am 2013 / 2014 – LMGTE Pro 2016

1. The current fastest race lap record is held by Lucas Di Grassi.  The LMP2 lap records date back to 2013 and the LMGTE Am to 2014.

BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT

1. Opened in 2004, the Bahrain International Circuit was built in 16 months and cost $150 million.
2. The Bahrain International Circuit is 5.412km / 3.362 miles in length.
3. The circuit has 15 turns (9 right and 6 left).
4. Length of start/finish straight is 1,090 m.
5. Circuit floodlighting – turning night into day.  A section of the floodlight system was partially used during the 2013 6 Hours of Bahrain and was fully operational for the 2014 race.
   • 495 light poles erected along the track
   • Each pole 10 to 45 metres in height
   • 5,000 lights
   • More than 500km of cabling

THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

1. The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 35 islands covering 780 square kilometres, making Bahrain the third smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore, and has a population of 1.3 million.
2. Bahrain is the site of the ancient land of the Dilmun civilisation. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521, who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire.  In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.
3. Bahrain was a British protectorate from 1880 until 1971, when the Kingdom became independent.
4. Causeways link the main island with two other islands and with its closest neighbour, Saudi Arabia.
5. In Arabic, Bahrayn is the dual form of bahr ("sea"), so al-Bahrayn means "the two seas”.
6. Bahrain World Trade Centre is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. Each turbine is 29m in diameter and their capacity is 675kw of wind power production.
7. Bahrain’s flag used to be the largest flag in the world, setting a Guinness world record in 2004 at 169.5m long and 97.1m wide. The five red points signify the five pillars of Islam.