On Saturday 19 November Bahrain International Circuit will host the 2016 season finale with six titles, including the coveted FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship crown, to be decided. 

This will be the third time Bahrain has hosted the final race of the FIA World Endurance Championship since 2012 and everyone from the WEC paddock knows full well that the welcome they will receive will be as warm as the weather in this desert kingdom.

In Shanghai Porsche secured its second consecutive World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship with a dominant display from current World Champions Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley. The World Drivers’ Championship is still to be decided between current championship leaders, Porsche’s Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, who are currently on 152 points, and Toyota’s Stephane Sarrazin, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway, who are 17 points behind on 135 points.

The LMP2 title was joyously clinched in Shanghai by French team Signatech Alpine, a fourth place finish being all that was required, while the LMP1 Private Team title has been in Rebellion Racing’s pocket since Fuji. 

However, the LMGTE Pro and Am championships are still wide open between drivers from Ferrari, Aston Martin and Ford, as is the coveted FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers. 

In the GT Manufacturers Championship Ferrari currently hold a 10 point advantage over Aston Martin, with a resurgent Ford 39.5 points behind and still able to overhaul the Italian manufacturer mathematically.  

The World Cup for GT Drivers’ is even closer with Aston Martin’s Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim currently on 131 points, 12 points ahead of Davide Rigon and Sam Bird in their Ferrari.  Ford’s Olivier Pla and Stefan Mucke and Ferrari’s Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado are all on 110 points, with double race winners Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx in the Ford GT also able to mathematically take the title on 105.5 points.

In the LMGTE Am title battle the no83 AF Corse Ferrari of Emmanuel Collard, Francois Perrodo and Rui Aguas are 25 points ahead of four time race winners Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda in the no98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage.

As in China, 31 cars will be on the grid for the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain for the third WEC round which runs into darkness.  The impressive Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir is slightly different to Le Mans and COTA though as 5000 lights illuminate the 5.412km track, turning night into daylight.   

Aside from the top level WEC action, there is a comprehensive support race package from the Porsche GT3 Cup and the MRF Challenge. 

However, much attention will undoubtedly fall in Bahrain on names synonymous with motorsport and endurance racing, names which are due to leave the WEC at the end of this season – Audi Sport and Mark Webber of Porsche. 

The season finale in Bahrain is going to be joyous, tense, emotional and a celebration of the very best of the FIA World Endurance Championship.