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WEC - All to Play for in Bahrain

03.11.21

With all of the driver titles in all five classes still to be decided, and a maximum of 39 points on offer at the end of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the calculators may well be getting very hot on Saturday evening during the final race of the 2021 season.

Hypercar

The no7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid of Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway are currently leading on 145 points, with the no8 Toyota 15 points behind on 130 points.  

The no36 Alpine Elf Matmut A480 is currently on 105 points and mathematically is out of the running as with even scoring maximum points, the no36 car would finish the season on 144 points, 1 point behind the current total of the no7 Toyota. 

This means the drivers’ championship will be decided by the two Toyota crews.

If the no7 car takes the single point for pole position on Friday afternoon, finishing third with 23 points on Saturday would be enough to secure the title, even if the no8 car wins the race.

No7     145 + 1 + 23 = 169

No8     130 + 38 = 168

If the no8 car takes pole position and wins the race, then the no7 Toyota needs to finish in second as third place behind the no36 A480-Gibson would mean the no8 GR010 winning by 1 point.

No7     145 + 27 = 172

No7     145 + 23 = 168

No8     130 + 1 + 38 = 169

 

LMGTE Pro

With 39 points on offer for the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the battle for the FIA World Endurance Championship for LMGTE Drivers is a straight fight between the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi and the no92 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR-19 of Kevin Estre and Neel Jani.

2017 champions Calado and Pier Guidi are the current leaders on 139 points, with 2018/19 champion Estre and 2016 LMP1 Champion Jani on 138. If Estre adds another pole to the four he has secured already this season, the two cars will go head-to-head in Saturday’s race on 139 points, with the car that finishes ahead taking the title.

If the no92 Porsche secures the title on Saturday, Neel Jani will become the first driver to win FIA World Endurance Championship titles in both LMGTE and LMP1. 

 

LMP2

The LMP2 title race will be the most hotly contested during Saturday’s race, with four cars and ten drivers still in the hunt for the 2021 FIA WEC glory.

The no31 Team WRT Oreca of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Robin Frijns head into the final race as championship leaders on 113 points thanks to their victory in the 6 Hours of Bahrain last Saturday.  

The no28 JOTA Oreca-Gibson of Sean Gelael, Tom Blomqvist and Stoffel Vandoorne is five points behind on 108 points with the no38 JOTA Oreca of Anthony Davidson, Roberto Gonzalez and Antonio Felix Da Costa on 96 points.  

The no22 United Autosports Oreca of reigning champion Phil Hanson is still mathematically able to secure the title. The British driver, who has had different teammates this year, is currently on 88 points, 25 behind the Team WRT trio, meaning he only has an outside chance of retaining his LMP2 title.

The permeations for the championship points are vast and complex but if either the no31 Team WRT Oreca or the no28 JOTA Oreca should win the race then they would be crowned champions.

No31   113 + 38 = 151

No28   108 + 27 = 135

 

No31   113 + 27 = 141

No28   108 + 38 = 146

 

Should the no38 JOTA Oreca take their second win of the year from pole position, the no28 JOTA Oreca finish second and the no31 Team WRT finish third then the no31 Team WRT would be champions by one point

No31   113 + 23 = 136

No28   108 + 27 = 135

No38   96 + 38 + 1 = 135

In this scenario if the no28 takes pole but the no38 wins the race and the no31 in third, the no28 and no31 would be equal on 136 points. Team WRT would still be champions thanks to their two wins at Le Mans and in the first race here in Bahrain as the no28 car has not won this season.

No31   113 + 23 = 136

No28   108 + 27 + 1 = 136

No38   96 + 38 = 134

 

Should the no38 win from pole position and the no31 finish off the podium, the no28 and no38 would be equal on 135 points, with the no38 winning the title on race victories.

No31   113 + 18 = 131

No28   108 + 27 = 135

No38   96 + 38 + 1 = 135

 

For the no22 United Autosports to take the title, they need to win the race from pole position and hope that the no31 Team WRT finishes no higher than 6th and the no28 JOTA 4th

 

LMGTE Am

The battle for the LMGTE Am titles is a straight fight between the no83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Alessio Rovera, Francois Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen and the no31 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Ben Keating, Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga.

Reigning champions Francois Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen, and their new for 2021 Alessio Rovera, are currently on 112 points, 11.5 points ahead of their rivals who are on 90.5 points following their victory in the 6 Hours of Bahrain.

To secure the 2021 titles the no83 Ferrari needs to finish 4th, which would give them 130 points.  With a maximum of 39 points on offer, the best the no31 Aston Martin can achieve is 129.5 points.

 

LMP2 Pro/Am

The race for the inaugural LMP2 Pro/Am titles will be a three-way fight between the no29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca, the no21 Dragonspeed USA Oreca and the no70 Realteam Racing Oreca, with the three cars separated by just 10 points.

Frits Van Eerd is the current championship leader on 129 points and because he has had different teammates in the Racing Team Nederland Oreca this season, the Dutch driver is the sole championship leader after taking victory last weekend in the 6 Hours of Bahrain alongside Job Van Uitert and Giedo Van Der Garde.

Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley and Juan Pablo Montoya are currently on 120 points in the no21 Dragonspeed USA Oreca, just one point ahead of Esteban Garcia and Norman Nato after they finish in second place in Bahrain alongside Loïc Duval.  

As there is no point for pole position in LMP2 Pro/Am, unless the car takes the overall LMP2 pole, it will be a case of winner takes all as 38 points for the win, and 27 points for second, would secure the 2021 titles for any of the three contenders.

No29   129 + 27 = 146

No21   120 + 38 = 148

No70   119 + 38 = 147

 

The 8 Hours of Bahrain is the sixth and final round of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship and is due to start at 14h00 on Saturday 6 November.