Bachler Set for Stretch of Seven Consecutive Racing Events

Klaus Bachler faces a “busy situation” as the Roar Before the Rolex 24 kicks off a period of seven consecutive weekends driving Porsche GT3 machinery on three different continents.

The Austrian driver, who is part of the lineup for the No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R at Daytona, has upcoming commitments in the Asian Le Mans Series, Intercontinental GT Challenge and FIA World Endurance Championship on his schedule.

Following the conclusion of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Bachler will fly home for a brief stay before traveling to the United Arab Emirates for the first of three Asian Le Mans Series races with Pure Rxcing across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

That is then followed by a debut outing in the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour with HubAuto Racing, after which Bachler’s commitments will take him to Qatar to first take part in the WEC Prologue at the Lusail International Circuit.

He completes the grueling, multi-race schedule with the Qatar 1812km on March 2.

“I know it’s especially the beginning of the season, it’s a lot of traveling, there’s back-to-back races,” Bachler told Sportscar365.

“Qatar is a bit easier because in the end there’s the Prologue before, same like here, you have the [Rolex] 24, but you have also the test before. So you’re relaxed to start the 24 hours. But yes, it’s a busy situation.”

Bachler is no stranger to a demanding schedule.

Last year, he combined his full season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship role with Pfaff Motorsports with additional outings in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, Asia and America as well as the Asian Le Mans Series and NLS.

“I’m used to this from last year when I did the full season in IMSA, there was also a lot of traveling,” he said.

“Actually way more than it is now because I did a lot of testing here to prepare for the races, so it was more last year.”

While he competes for multiple teams in four different championships, the common factor across every race is that Bachler will pilot the Porsche 911 GT3 R for each appearance.

“For me it’s pretty it’s good because in the end it’s always the same car,” he said.

“Teams are different but in the end the teams, I know most of them so it’s not the biggest issue. But for me I wanted to always be in the same car because I think if you change the cars then it gets really difficult.”

Additionally, he said that the relatively low key nature of WEC’s pre-season testing at the end of February helps, while the opportunity to recharge during the winter break is also a positive factor.

“[In] Qatar there is one week break because it’s testing and honestly I think it’s pretty tight but then if you do it the whole year this is a problem for me personally because it’s quite demanding.

“But now we are fresh, I’m fresh after winter break so I was at home and I could prepare well and I knew how it would be so it’s all fine.”