Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) has kick-started its final countdown to this year’s FIA WEC Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain.

Only a few days remain to the endurance racing weekend, which takes place on November 17 and 18 in Sakhir.

Many of the world’s most prestigious brands in motoring will be represented at the circuit, including Porsche, Toyota, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Nissan with many ex-Formula 1 stars behind the wheel competing in a large grid of more than 30 cars.

Race-goers will be free to watch all the high-octane action from the Main Grandstand and also enjoy an Open Paddock experience throughout the entire weekend.

The Main Grandstand overlooks the start and finish line, the main pit lane and the main straight. The Open Paddock offers fans a chance to experience what goes on behind-the-scenes, where they will likely get a chance to meet one or more of the championship’s star drivers.

This year’s event is the sixth edition of the desert endurance race. The Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain is scheduled to flag off at 4pm, with the chequered flag scheduled to come down at around 10pm.

Aside from the WEC, there will be a trio of supporting championships and plenty of entertainment off the track for the whole family to enjoy.

Tickets cost BD10 for the entire weekend. They can be purchased online by visiting at www.bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on 17450000. Children aged 12 and younger can get in for free.

 

 

 

Hartley hammers home title despite second place finish

 

Brendon Hartley will return to the Formula 1 paddock as a reigning world champion after he sealed the 2017 World Endurance Championship drivers’ title alongside co-drivers Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard thanks to finishing second in the 6 Hours of Shanghai.

Hartley, who has recently been called up by Toro Rosso having made his F1 debut at the United States Grand Prix, has claimed his second WEC world title having taken his maiden crown with Mark Webber and Bernhard in 2015.

Porsche also sealed its third consecutive WEC manufacturers’ crown in China as it prepares to leave the sport at the end of the season.

Hartley feels it will ‘take a while’ for the scale of his achievements in 2017 to sink in after clinching the title, following on from his Le Mans victory back in June.

Toyota’s former Bahrain resident Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Anthony Davidson won the 6 Hours of Shanghai with a dominant display to deliver the Japanese manufacturer’s fourth victory of the season to tie level with Porsche ahead of the 2017 season finale in Bahrain.

However, disaster struck for the sister Toyota of José María López, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway when Lopez clashed with a GTE car in the final hour which dropped the team from second place to fourth to promote both Porsches.

It was a bitter blow for the team because Toyota GAZOO Racing had earned a one-two finish at its home race following an eventful and rain-affected 6 Hours of Fuji, the seventh round of the 2017 FIA WEC. In the #8 TS050 hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), SBuemi, Davidson and Nakajima won convincingly – Toyota’s fifth victory in six events at Fuji Speedway.

The win with the 1,000-hp TS050 hybrid electric vehicle came at a special time in the history of HEV technology, as it coincided with the 20th anniversary weekend of the launch of the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid electric car.

Conway, Kobayashi and López, in the #7 car, took second place on that day but last weekend’s race will be one they will want to forget. As a result, the #1 Porsche of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy claimed the final rostrum spot despite Tandy being hit with a throttle sensor issue during the opening hour of the Shanghai race.