The entry list has been published for the Six Hours of Bahrain, round five of the World Endurance Championship, and it looks like conventional cars will have to take a back seat in LMP1: Toyota’s TS030 Hybrid will face two Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrids. The turbo-diesel R18 Ultras are sitting this one out.
Rebellion will bring a pair of Lolas, Straka and JRM their HPDs, but the real battle will be between the hybrids—will Toyota’s more powerful rear-drive system again outgun Audi’s all-wheel-drive?
Audi has already locked up the manufacturers’ title and the drivers’ crown will go to one of the team’s drivers. All Toyota can win this year is races, and after its performance at Sao Paulo, the Toyota team looks set to sweep the rest of the season. Audi’s engineers will have to come up with some real magic to keep the Japanese at bay.
Among the privateers, Rebellion has a 44-point lead over Straka with JRM another six points back. With two cars on the grid, odds favor Rebellion to win yet another LMP1 Privateer title.
Eleven P2s have entered; Signatech, Oak, and Lotus will each bring a pair, along with ADR-Delta, Gulf Racing, Greaves, Starworks, and Pecom. Starworks will look to increase its 28-point lead over ADR-Delta, while Pecom in third trails by only four points. With three races and 78 points left on the table, Greaves and Oak are mathematically still in the hunt, but likely one of the top three will win the title.
AF Corse, Felbermayr-Proton and Aston Martin will contest the GTE-Pro class, where AF Corse’s Ferraris lead Aston Martin 143–82. Unless the two AF Corse Ferraris collide with the Aston at the next three races, Felbermayr is out of contention.
Larbre Competition, JWA-Avila, Krohn Racing, AF Corse-Waltrip, and Felbermayr-Proton have signed up for GTE-Am, where Larbre leads Felbermayr 116–94. Again barring repeated disasters, Larbre and Felbermayr are the only serious contenders.
This will be the first visit to Bahrain by the world’s fastest sports cars, though F1 and other series have raced there for years.
ACO President Pierre Fillon said on the WEC website, “After a fantastic event in Brazil we are now looking forward to the 6 Hours of Bahrain and establishing the Spirit of Le Mans in the Middle East for the first time.
“All twenty eight cars that raced in Brazil will be flown to Bahrain. For the Bahraini fans the grid will include some familiar names from Formula One and they will be introduced to some new names from the world of sports car racing that I’m sure will become equally familiar over the next few years.
“The track and the facilities at the Bahrain International Circuit are amongst the best in the world and we are very pleased to be staging the first ever Le Mans style endurance race in the Middle East at this circuit.”
