Season-closer entry list revealed as Hypercar and LMP2 title fights heat up
The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar and LMP2 title fights will be decided at the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain this Saturday (6 November).
Click HERE for the latest entry list ahead of this weekend’s season-closer.
Such is the closeness of the competition this season that with extra points on offer for the grand finale (39 in total), no one is guaranteed of world championship achievements until the chequered flag flies.
Anything can happen. We have not yet said our last word, @BAH_Int_Circuit. Watch the WEC season finale, the 8 Hours of Bahrain LIVE on the WEC App. Green lights on Nov6 at (14:00 UTC+3).
Get yours: https://t.co/xcTmw9bP32#WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/bEXiAVxSH7
— WEC (@FIAWEC) November 1, 2021
In the Hypercar class, the favourites are the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose-Maria Lopez. After a hat-trick of wins at Monza, Le Mans and the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain last Saturday, the crew go into this weekend’s race with a strong advantage.
Indeed, they can win the drivers’ world championship if they achieve second place, or if they take pole position and then simply finish.
In the LMP2 class things are much more open as Team WRT, JOTA and United Autosports all have chances for title glory.
Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Charles Milesi grabbed the lead of the LMP2 drivers’ championship over the weekend and now have a five-point lead over the JOTA trio of Stoffel Vandoorne, Tom Blomqvist and Sean Gelael.
The No.38 crew of the soon-to-be retiring Anthony Davidson, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Roberto Gonzalez place third but are still in touch, 17 points adrift. However, with a total of 39 up for grabs in the final encounter, anything is still possible.
United Autosports’ Phil Hanson still also has a mathematical chance of retaining his title but is 25 points off the leaders and will have to rely on his rivals dropping out of the big points positions.
In the new for 2021 LMP2 Pro/Am division Frits Van Eerd took the lead in the penultimate race after a thrilling battle between the Racing for Nederland car and the Realteam Racing entry.
The Dutchman has a nine-point advantage now in the push for the title from the DragonSpeed USA trio of Juan Pablo Montoya, Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman who endured a tough last race.
However, the Realteam Racing squad of Esteban Garcia, Norman Nato and Loic Duval are also in the mix as they sit just a point behind the DragonSpeed USA crew, ensuring just 10 points cover seven drivers.
