Four weeks to go until WEC season-closer in Bahrain

In only one month’s time, the FIA WEC family will be together in Bahrain for the final race of the 2019 / 2020 season – the 8 Hours of Bahrain (14 November).

A number of championship titles are still to be determined in Bahrain next month including the LMP FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship title which will be closely fought between the No. 8 and No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entries - currently only separated by seven points. It will also form the final event for the legendary LMP1 category before it is replaced by next year’s top-tier Hypercars. 

The drivers’ championship in GTE Pro is also still to be decided, as well as the teams’ and drivers’ championship titles in the Pro Am category. TV and streaming details will be released closer to the time revealing how fans can tune in from home.

Toyota, WEC Season 8: the story so far… As the WEC prepares for its final round, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, we take a look back at how Season 8 has fared for Toyota Gazoo Racing so far… It all started back at Silverstone in September last year when the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and José María López took the season-opening win after a race which saw sunshine, rain and two safety car periods. The threesome finished just 2 seconds ahead of their team-mates in the No. 8 car.  The story so far in LMGTE Pro... In LMGTE Pro, all eyes are on the 8 Hours of Bahrain where there will be a three-way title fight for the LMGTE FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship between the No. 95 and No. 97 crews, as well as the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari. Elsewhere, it is still possible for the No. 92 Porsche to finish runner-up in the GTE Drivers’ Championship should either the No. 97 Aston Martin or the No. 51 Ferrari encounter difficulties. Christensen and Estre in the Porsche 911 RSR currently have a total of 109 points, 18 points behind AF Corse Ferrari in third.

Four weeks to go until WEC season-closer in Bahrain

• Bahrain FIA WEC Sport
• At 10/16/2020 10:04:00 p.m.
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On the occasion of the official FIA WEC ‘Rookie’ test in Bahrain, the day after the final round of the 2017 season, one of the most experienced ‘rookies’ of them all successfully completed his first laps in a Le Mans Prototype.  Following a total of 113 laps / 611 km in the No.8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID, the two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso – who has for several years expressed a strong interest in endurance racing and has indeed visited the WEC paddock more than once – pronounced himself very happy with the experience. He set a best lap of 1:43.013. “It was a great day. Testing an LMP1 car is always a nice thing for any racing driver because these cars are amazing to drive. They are very consistent throughout a stint which is a positive thing. I have wanted to test a car like this for a long time now and today I could achieve that so I am happy.” Retrouvez ICI tous les articles de notre site en version française

Also testing today with Toyota was the Promoter’s choice for emerging talents, Jackie Chan DC Racing’s Thomas Laurent who yesterday finished second in the FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Trophy title chase. He completed 31 laps, recording a fastest time of 1:43.273.  The 19-year-old Frenchman said afterwards, “I’m really happy about how this morning went and to drive in an LMP1 car with Toyota was just a dream come true.  “The car is just amazing, the downforce, the braking, the acceleration with the boost, is all super impressive. It’s a real weapon. I have been doing my ‘homework’ each night to learn about the car and had some time to adapt to it in the Toyota simulator in Cologne.”

Driving today in the LMP1 category was newly crowned World Series Formula V8 3.5 champion Pietro Fittipaldi. He completed 32 laps on what was the 919 Hybrid’s last appearance in a WEC event and was congratulated by Porsche LMP Team Principal Andreas Seidl for doing a solid performance.  A total of 14 cars ran during the five hours of track time, with three LMP1, six LMP2, four LMGTE Pro and one LMGTE Am. Among the LMP2 cars was the championship-winning Vaillante Rebellion which gave second placed World Series driver Matevos Isaakyan 30 laps, while Jackie Chan DC Racing tested two young drivers and carried out some development work for Cosworth. Also carrying out development work were the two 911 RSRs from the Porsche GT Team. The test closed at 16:00 local time, and the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship is now officially over.  See you all in 2018, and stay tuned to FIA WEC and its social media channels for all the latest news.

Fernando Alonso completes successful WEC test in Bahrain

• Bahrain Fernando Alonso FIA WEC FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship Toyota
• At 11/19/2017 02:44:00 p.m.
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Rookie Test entry list revealed A provisional entry list (below) for the official WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain has been released, revealing that 12 cars will be taking part in the five available hours of track time at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday 19 November.  It is worth noting that whichever team wins the LMGTE Pro championship (whether that is AF Corse, Porsche GT Team or Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team UK) must provide a car in which the 3rd placed driver from the World Series Formula V8 3.5 will test. Equally, whichever team wins the LMP2 championship (Vaillante Rebellion, Jackie Chan DC Racing or Signatech Alpine Matmut) will test the 2nd placed driver from the single seater series.  As already announced (see original article HERE), Jackie Chan DC Racing’s Thomas Laurent will complete a minimum of 30 laps in the No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID, and Mike Conway from Toyota Gazoo Racing will be on hand to set a benchmark and guide the young Frenchman through his step up to LMP1. The winner of the 2017 World Series FV8 won’t be known until the morning before the test in Bahrain, and the lucky driver will be testing the No.1 Porsche 919 Hybrid.  As well as some more well-known WEC names, Mahaveer Raghunathan from India will test with G-Drive Racing, Konstantin Tereshchenko from Russia will drive TDS Racing’s ORECA 07, and Frenchman Gabriel Aubry will complete laps in the Signatech Alpine A470. In LMGTE, AF Corse will welcome Ishikawa Motoaki from Japan to the Ferrari 488 GTE. More drivers will be announced closer to the date of the test.  Retrouvez ICI tous les articles de notre site en version française

Bahrain Rookie Test entry list revealed

• Bahrain Championship Racing team
• At 11/08/2017 07:27:00 p.m.
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One of the four drivers who will take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s third, official ‘Rookie Test’ at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday 19 November has been announced today. However, the identity of the remaining three drivers won’t be known until less than 24 hours before the start of the test. The young driver chosen to test the Toyota TS050 HYBRID will be Frenchman Thomas Laurent (19) (pictured below), who was selected as having shown exemplary performance, determination and race skills during 2017.  The Jackie Chan DC Racing team member, who made his LMP2 debut at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April of this year, has so far won three times including a memorable result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when he and his team mates finished second overall. He has been leading the LMP2 drivers’ championship since the start of the season.  The other three drivers who will be officially part of the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain all come from World Series Formula V8 3.5 but, with the drivers’ championship not due to be settled until the final race of the season in Bahrain, their identity won’t be confirmed until less than 24 hours before the test begins.  The eventual winner of the World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship will test the Porsche 919 Hybrid, the driver finishing second in the classification will test and ORECA 07 Gibson with the winner of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams, and the driver finishing third in the classification will test with the team which has won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams.  To read who the the other drivers might be, and quotes from Pierre Fillon and Gerard Neveu on Thomas Laurent and the Rookie test CLICK HERE

Bahreïn Rookie Test 2017 : Thomas Laurent pilotera la Toyota TS050 HYBRID L'identité de l'un des quatre pilotes participant au troisième Rookie Test officiel du Championnat du Monde d'Endurance FIA (WEC), prévu le dimanche 19 novembre sur le Bahrain International Circuit, a été annoncée aujourd'hui. Mais celle des trois autres pilotes conviés ne pourra être dévoilée qu'à peine 24 heures avant le début de ce test.  Le jeune pilote désigné pour piloter la Toyota TS050 HYBRID est le Français Thomas Laurent (19 ans). Il a été choisi pour ses performances exemplaires, sa détermination et son sens de la course pendant cette saison 2017.  Le pilote de Jackie Chan DC Racing, qui a fait ses débuts en catégorie LMP2 en avril dernier aux 6 Heures de Silverstone, a signé à ce jour en compagnie de ses deux coéquipiers trois victoires, dont un résultat mémorable aux 24 Heures du Mans, avec la deuxième place du classement général. Il est actuellement en tête du Trophée Endurance FIA des Pilotes LMP2 depuis la première manche WEC 2017.  Les trois autres pilotes qui participeront au Rookie Test de Bahreïn proviendront tous du championnat monoplaces Formula V8 3.5 World Series, dont le titre ne se jouera qu'à l'issue de la dernière manche 2017 à Bahreïn. Leur identité sera donc connue moins d'une journée avant le début du Rookie Test. Le futur champion 2017 de Formula V8 3.5 World Series effectuera le Rookie Test au volant de la Porsche 919 Hybrid, le futur deuxième sur l'ORECA 07-Gibson de l'équipe lauréate du Trophée Endurance FIA LMP2, et le troisième au sein de l'équipe qui remportera le Trophée Endurance FIA des Equipes LMGTE Pro.  Pour découvrir cette actualité, y compris les déclarations de Pierre Fillon et Gérard Neveu CLIQUEZ ICI

All stories on the 2017 season are available online on the official FIAWEC website at www.fiawec.com

Thomas Laurent to test Toyota in Bahrain Rookie Test

• Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit Drivers FIA World Endurance Championship’s Toyota
• At 10/27/2017 04:34:00 p.m.
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