Bahrain Wednesday Notebook

***There are numerous changes on the 36-car entry list for the FIA World Endurance Championship season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain compared to the previous round at Fuji in September.

***These include the addition of Sebastien Bourdais to the lineup of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R and a reshuffle at Alpine following Nicolas Lapierre’s decision to stand down from driving duties to take up a role as team sporting director.

***Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault said that while he had known about Lapierre’s plans to retire since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Frenchman’s decision to step down with a race still to go “came as a little bit of a surprise.”

***Sinault told Sportscar365: “It was brave of him to say that he doesn’t want to be in the car in Bahrain. Nobody pushed him. It’s not possible to give a logical explanation. If one day you wake up and decide it’s time, it’s time.”

***On the decision to move Charles Milesi over to the No. 36 to take over Lapierre’s seat for Bahrain, Sinault added: “The reality is it’s more convenient in terms of the physical size of the drivers. Maybe the decision could have been different if the car was in France. But the car was on the boat [being freighted], so we decided to do it like this. It’s also an opportunity to test this [new lineup], so it’s very interesting.”

***Laura Wontrop Klauser’s position at GM Motorsports will not be replaced, with it being split up between Keely Bosn (Cadillac Racing program manager) and Jessica Dane (Corvette Racing program manager). Both new hires will report to Mark Stielow, GM’s director of motorsport competition engineering, per a GM spokesperson.

***Klauser is on-site this weekend for her final event in her current position as GM’s sports car racing program manager, following a shakeup that also includes the departure of Corvette GT3 program manager Christie Bagne at the end of the year.

***Mathieu Jaminet is serving as Porsche Penske Motorsport’s reserve driver this weekend. The Frenchman will take on an expanded role in the WEC next year as the third driver in the No. 5 Porsche 963 for selected races as part of the team’s driver shakeup across both the world championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

***Toyota arrives in Bahrain enjoying an undefeated streak of wins dating back to 2017. It has not lost since the Bahrain International Circuit rejoined the calendar under the current eight-hour format that was introduced in 2019.

***Another victory this weekend would guarantee the Japanese marque the manufacturers’ title, with a ten-point gap separating Porsche and Toyota in the standings. Even if Porsche takes the bonus point for pole, victory for Toyota in the race would put the Japanese marque ahead on countback with four wins to three.

***On Toyota’s victory prospects, Mike Conway said: “Last year I came back through the field quite quickly. And tire degradation is normally good for us. Obviously everyone else has had another year to get better, so I can’t say [with confidence] that it will be the same, but slow-speed corners and tire deg are usually good for us. I think those are reasons why we have been so successful here in the past.”

***Although he and his teammates in the No. 8 Toyota are not in drivers’ title contention, Brendon Hartley said he is hoping to round off a tough season with a second win.

***The Kiwi told Sportscar365: “A lot of things haven’t gone our way this year, for example at Fuji where the safety car cost us the chance to win and then the penalty a sure-fire podium. Le Mans slipping away comes to mind as well. We’re hoping to put that behind us for next year, and that starts this weekend. It would be nice to go into the winter break on a high note after a bit of a disappointing year.”

***For Ferrari, a 18-point gap to Porsche means that even a pole-to-win for the Italian brand would only translate into manufacturers’ title glory if the best-placed Toyota is not in the top three and the best-placed Porsche is outside of the top six.

***Meanwhile, Alpine is defending a three-point lead over BMW for unofficial ‘best of the rest’ honors in fourth place. If the two marques end up tied, BMW would win on countback as things stand thanks to its second-place finish at Fuji.

***Cadillac and Peugeot also remain mathematically in contention for fourth, although both would need a third-place finish at worst to stand any chance of beating Alpine.

***Only the Hypercar drivers and manufacturers’ titles remain up for grabs in Bahrain, with the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams (Hertz Team JOTA) and both LMGT3 drivers’ and team’s prizes (Manthey PureRxcing) having been sealed at Fuji.

***While Hertz Team JOTA wrapped up the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams at Fuji with its No. 12 Porsche, team co-owner Sam Hignett says the squad is now targeting a 1-2 finish in the privateers’ classification, with the No. 38 car currently only seven points behind the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari.

***Hignett told Sportscar365: “At Bahrain there is going to be a big push to replicate what happened at Spa with the No. 12 car. With the No. 38 car, it’s tight in the championship with the Ferrari, Proton and us, so there will be a big push to get a 1-2.”

***Michelin has once again brought its Medium and Hard tire compounds to Bahrain, marking the fourth successive race that the Soft compound has gone unused.

***As previously reported by Sportscar365, LMGT3 teams have access to the Medium tire after plans to bring a harder spec known as Medium-plus were shelved.

***Three Silver-rated drivers, Colin Caresani, Jordan Love and Manuel Maldonado, have won their appeals to avoid being upgraded to Gold status for 2025 according to the latest version of the FIA’s listing of driver ratings.

***Notably, LMGT3 drivers Sarah Bovy and Alex Malykhin are still set to be upgraded to Silver status for 2025 as indicated on the initial draft earlier in the month.

***The ACO will add new spectator areas to Circuit de la Sarthe ahead of next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, including a new grass bank at the Karting Area, a grandstand and adjacent big screen TV at Maison Blanche, as well as the ‘Chill Zone’ with space for 10,000 spectators near Tertre Rouge. Click Here for more details.

***Track action begins with Free Practice 1 on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. local time (5:15 a.m. EDT), with Free Practice 2 following after sunset at 5:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. EDT).

John Dagys and Davey Euwema contributed to this report