Bourdais returns for season finale to bolster Cadillac victory bid

The Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will mark Bourdais’ third WEC outing of the year, having already piloted the Cadillac V-Series.R in the Qatar curtain-raiser – losing a fourth-place finish due to a technical infringement – and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where an excellent third on the grid was undone by mechanical issues.

In evidence of the car’s unquestionable potential, Lynn secured pole position last time out at Fuji, and he and Bamber were firmly in the fight for the podium if not better until a succession of errors saw their Japanese challenge unravel.

The addition of Bourdais, the American outfit hopes, will bolster its bid to return to the rostrum for the first time since Le Mans midway through last season. The 45-year-old – a four-time Champ Car champion, a veteran of 27 grand prix starts and three times an outright podium-finisher at La Sarthe – has previously competed at Bahrain International Circuit in both Formula 1 and WEC’s LMP2 category.

“It’s good to get back in the car with Alex and Earl,” enthused the Florida-based Frenchman, twice a winner with Cadillac in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year. “We started off the season really well [in Qatar], and while we ultimately didn’t get the result because of circumstances, the car was very competitive in the race and we certainly deserved a good finish.

“Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a tough season in terms of results – there has always been something getting in the way – but performance-wise, it seems like the car is in a really good window. It’s pretty light, good on power and competitive, so there is definitely something to play for and if we could send it off on a high, that would be pretty cool.

“Bahrain is a really big challenge. It’s an extremely abrasive racetrack. Tyre degradation is very high and using the tyre the right way to make it function without making it slide is critical. You have to do it with set-up, dampers, traction control and you name it, but we’ll try to find some recipes that work and hopefully we’ll wind up in a good spot.”

The inclusion of Bourdais is not the only change in the 36-car entry. Elsewhere in the Hypercar field, Alpine Endurance Team has mixed up its crews following Nicolas Lapierre’s appointment as Sporting Director, with Paul Loup Chatin back in the #35 A424 prototype after skipping Fuji, and Charles Milesi moving across to the #36.

It was announced last week that teenage Danish talent Conrad Laursen will replace Clemens Schmid aboard Akkodis ASP Team’s #78 Lexus RC F GT3, while there is a double substitution in the #88 Proton Competition Mustang. Mikkel Pedersen and Christian Ried make way for 2018 European Le Mans Series LMGTE champion Giorgio Roda – returning to WEC for the first time since the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in June – and countryman Giammarco Levorato, himself a multiple winner in ELMS competition.

There is similarly a replacement in Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini Huracan, where Matteo Cairoli will take over from Franck Perera, making for an all-Italian line-up in the Italian sportscar. Rejoining the grid for the first time since the end of last season, the Como native recently won the penultimate round of the 2024 ELMS campaign on home soil at Mugello and has also raced for the squad in IMSA this year.

For the full Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain entry list, click here.