WEC - 8 HOURS OF BAHRAIN Preview
The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to the Middle East for the second time during the 2019/20 season. The race in Bahrain was a feature of the championship from 2012 to 2017, was missing from the 2018/19 Super Season and returned as Round 4 during the 2019/20 championship as an eight-hour race instead of the six hours held at the previous events.
Originally the 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain was going to be Round 4 of the 2020/21 season but with the advent of the Covid19 pandemic the 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain is now the season finale of the 2019/20 season.
Situated in the desert, the Bahrain International Circuit provides a unique challenge for the drivers and teams in a race that will finish after the sun sets over the Gulf.
Date: | 12-14 November 2020 |
Lap distance: | 5.412 km |
Race duration: | 8 hours |
Location: | Bahrain International Circuit Gate 255 |
Website : | www.bahraingp.com |
Other Races: | BIC 2000cc Challenge |
Press officer: | Sarah Al-Hashimi |
Airport: | Bahrain International Airport 43km |
ENTRY LIST
CLICK HERE for the entry list for the 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain
RACE WINNERS
27-29 Sept 2012 | 28-30 Nov 2013 | 13-15 Nov 2014 | 19-21 Nov 2015 | 17-19 Nov 2016 | 16-18 Nov 2017 | 12-14 Dec 2019 | |
RACE LENGTH | 6 Hours | 6 Hours | 6 Hours | 6 Hours | 6 Hours | 6 Hours | 8 Hours |
LMP1 | Fässler / Lotterer / Tréluyer no1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (M) 191 laps | Davidson / Sarrazin / Buemi No8 Toyota Racing Toyota TS030 – Hybrid (M) 199 laps | Wurz / Sarrazin / Conway no7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 – Hybrid (M) 195 laps | Dumas / Jani / Lieb no18 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (M) 199 laps | Di Grassi / Duval / Jarvis No8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 (M) 201 laps | Davidson / Nakajima / Buemi No8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050 – Hybrid (M) 199 laps | Lopez / Kobayashi / Conway no7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050 – Hybrid (M) 257 laps |
LMP2 | Perez Companc / Minassian / Kaffer no49 Pecom Racing Oreca 03 – Nissan (M) 179 laps | Rusinov / Martin / Conway no26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 03 – Nissan (D) 184 laps | Bradley / Howson / Imperatori no47 KCMG Oreca 03 – Nissan (D) 181 laps | Rusinov / Canal / Bird no26 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan (D) 183 laps | Rusinov / Rast / Brundle no26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 05-Nissan (D) 184 laps | Prost / Canal / Senna No31 Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07-Gibson (D) 186 laps | Hanson / Albuquerque / Di Resta No22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson (M) 249 laps |
LMGTE Pro | Fisichella / Vilander no51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia (M) 170 laps | Bruni / Vilander no51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia (M) 175 laps | Bruni / Vilander no51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia (M) 173 laps | Pilet / Makowiecki no92 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (M) 173 laps | Thiim / Sorensen No95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 (D) 174 laps | Rigon / Bird No71 AF Corse Ferrari F488 GTE (M) 175 laps | Thiim / Sorensen No95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (M) 235 laps |
LMGTE Am | Ried / Roda / Ruberti no88 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 911 RSR (997) (M) 165 laps | Poulsen / Nygaard / Thiim no95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 (M) 173 laps | Poulsen / Heinemeier Hansson / Thiim no95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 (M) 172 laps | Dalla Lana / Lamy / Lauda no98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 (M) 170 laps | Al Qubaisi / Heinemeier Hansson / Long No88 Abu Dhabi- Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (M) 171 laps | Dalla Lana / Lamy / Lauda no98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage (D) 170 laps | Keating / Ten Voorde / Bleekemolen No57 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR (M) 233 laps |
LAP RECORDS
LMP1 | L. Di Grassi | Audi R18 | 1m41.511 | 191.9kph | 19 Nov 2016 |
LMP2 | P. Di Resta | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 1m48.579 | 179.4kph | 14 Dec 2019 |
LMGTE Pro | M. Molina | Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | 1m56.942 | 166.6kph | 14 Dec 2019 |
LMGTE Am | R. Gunn | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | 1m57.242 | 166.2kph | 14 Dec 2019 |
FIA WEC TIMETABLE
Thursday, 11 November
08:30 - 12:30 Scrutineering
17:30 - 19:00 Free Practice #1
Friday, 13 November
09:00 – 10:30 Free Practice #2
13:45 - 14:45 Free Practice #3
18:00 - 18:20 Qualifying - LMGTE-PRO/LMGTE-AM
18:30 - 18:50 Qualifying - LMP1/LMP2
19:00 Qualifying Press Conference
Saturday, 14 November
14:00 - 22:00 RACE: 8 Hours of Bahrain
22:15 Post-race Press Conference
FIA OFFICIALS
Eduardo Freitas FIA Race Director
Michael Schwagerl FIA International Steward
Tim Mayer FIA International Steward
Marek Nawarecki FIA Coordinator
Manuel Leal FIA Technical Delegate
Jacques Tropenat FIA Medical Delegate
Jeff Carter FIA Media Delegate
Cristobal Lopera Chief timekeeper
Yannick Dalmas FIA Driver Adviser
FACTS AND FIGURES
- The longest 6 Hour race was held in 2016 with the no8 Audi R18 completing 201 laps, the first time the race distance had exceeded 200 laps. In 2019 the race duration was extended to 8 hours and the no7 Toyota TS050 completed 257 laps or 1390.88km.
- Audi won in 2012 and 2016, Toyota in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019 and Porsche in 2015.
- ORECA have won six of the seven LMP2 races: Pecom Racing in 2012, G-Drive Racing in 2013 and 2016, KCMG in 2014, Rebellion Racing in 2017 and United Autosports in 2019. Ligier won in 2015 with G-Drive Racing.
- Ferrari won LMGTE Pro four times, 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. In 2017 Davide Rigon and Sam Bird won for the ‘Prancing Horse’ Porsche won in 2015 with victory for Patrick Pilet and Fred Makowiecki, while Aston Martin were victorious in 2016 and 2019 with Nicky Thiim and Marco Sorensen.
- Porsche and Aston Martin have shared the LMGTE Am class honours. Porsche won in 2012, 2016 and 2019 while Aston Martin took the class win in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
- Mike Conway, Nicki Thiim and Sam Bird are the only drivers to win the race in 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 and 2019, all with Aston Martin Racing. Sam Bird won LMP2 in 2015 with G-Drive Racing and LMGTE Pro with AF Corse Ferrari in 2017.
- Drivers who have won in Bahrain three or more times
Nicki Thiim | 4 wins | LMGTE Am 2013, 2014 – LMGTE Pro 2016, 2019 |
Mike Conway | 3 wins | LMP2 2013 – LMP1 2014, 2019 |
Roman Rusinov | 3 wins | LMP2 2013 / 2015 / 2016 |
Toni Vilander | 3 wins | LMGTE Pro 2012 / 2013 / 2014 |
- The current fastest race lap record is held by Lucas Di Grassi (Audi) who set a 1m41.511 in November 2016
BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
- Opened in 2004, the Bahrain International Circuit was built in 16 months and cost $150 million.
- The Bahrain International Circuit is 5.412km / 3.362 miles in length.
- The circuit has 15 turns (9 right and 6 left).
- Length of start/finish straight is 1,090 m.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Bahrain was a British protectorate from 1880 until 1971, when the Kingdom became independent.
- Causeways link the main island with two other islands and with its closest neighbour, Saudi Arabia.
- In Arabic, Bahrayn is the dual form of bahr ("sea"), so al-Bahrayn means "the two seas”.
- 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.
- 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.
FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS
The provisional classifications for all the Championship can be found on the following LINK