MOTORSPORT – THE title contenders in this weekend’s season-ending round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) are approaching tomorrow’s eight-hour spectacle in Bahrain like any other race.
Four of the WEC’s coveted titles are to be decided in the kingdom, headlined by both the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship and the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship in the series’ top-tier.
With 66 points available for manufacturers and teams and 39 points for drivers, the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will certainly make for a thrilling spectacle that promises plenty of tight, wheel-to-wheel battles. But to the WEC’s leading Hypercar competitors, they are taking it as “just another race” – despite all that is on the line.
“It’s just another race,” said Ferrari AF Corse’s James Calado during yesterday’s pre-event Press conference at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
Calado is part of Ferrari AF Corse’s #51 crew along with Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi who lead the Hypercar drivers’ championship battle with 115 points.
“We’ve been in this situation many times over the years, where it’s come down to the last few races,” Calado added. “Definitely, the car can be stronger than the last few races that we’ve been at, but we just have to not treat it any differently, just do our job, hopefully not make any mistakes, and try to put ourselves in a good position.
“We have a lead, it’s not a lot, but we’ll see what we can do. We’ve got to do the best we can with all we’ve got, and whatever happens, happens – if we win, we win, and if we don’t, we don’t. That’s just the way it goes.”
Calado and team are 13 points ahead of the AF Corse’s trio of Philip Hanson, Robert Kubica, and Yifei Ye in their #83 Hypercar, while Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 crew of Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor – two of last season’s Hypercar drivers’ title winners – are still in the fight with 94 points.
“I saw in the pre-event document all the possible scenarios where you can win or lose – you’ll just get lost in that document, so we are going to approach the weekend no differently than we have been,” said Hanson during yesterday’s Presser.
“The car feels quite good, so we’ll have a chance to be competitive and score some good points – the higher up we are to the top three positions, the more points will be available and that might change the championship order.
“But it’s an eight-hour race and a lot can happen, so we are just going to approach it the same we have been all year. Wherever we end up at the chequered flag on Saturday will be what it is.”
Of his bid to repeat as Hypercar drivers’ world champions with Vanthoor, Porsche’s Estre said: “We feel ready but we know it’s going to be very difficult. Ferrari are looking quite strong, plus the other brands are not sleeping.
“With this amount of points deficit, we need to score big points. It’s a tough task, but I have to say for sure we are thinking about the championship. But in the end, we have to win the race and let them do their race, and see where they end up.”
Ferrari currently also top the Hypercar manufacturers’ season standings with 204 points, as Porsche and Cadillac follow with 165 points and 143 points, respectively – with both needing extraordinary results in Bahrain to steal away the crown from the leaders.
Meanwhile, in the WEC’s LMGT3 class, both the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams and FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers are also to be decided in the kingdom.
Both the LMGT3 teams’ and drivers’ standings are currently led by Manthey 1st Phorm’s #92 crew of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick with 105 points as they chase back-to-back title doubles. Vista AF Corse’s #21 triumvirate of Alessio Rovera, Francois Heriau, and Simon Mann follow on 94 points, while TF Sport’s #81 trio of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade, and Tom Van Rompuy are third with 81 points.
“We try to see it as a normal race weekend for us,” said Lietz during yesterday’s Press conference. “We will try to focus and take it step by step with the car.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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