Bahrain Friday Notebook

Photo: MPS Agency

****8 Hours of Bahrain Hypercar pole-sitter Brendon Hartley, who has provisionally taken the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid entry into the world drivers’ championship lead with the extra point earned in the session, said it hadn’t been a “straightforward weekend” for he and co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa, who struggled with car setup in Free Practice.

***Hartley said: “We were struggling a lot in FP3 and did the famous ‘copy-paste’ that we sometimes do. It’s lucky car No. 7 went in a different direction and they were definitely much stronger than us in FP3 so we completely copied their setup. That’s the beauty of having a sister car and thanks to them for finding the right direction.”

***Antonio Felix da Costa was buoyed about co-driver Will Stevens’ second place in qualifying, given that the No. 38 JOTA crew opted to put only a single set of tires on the car. “We knew with everyone else going for two sets that we were most likely going to be fifth or sixth,” said Da Costa. “So second, I take that as a pole position for Will to be honest.”

***Kevin Estre put Alessandro Pier Guidi’s spin in the closing minutes of the GTE qualifying session into question. The Italian spun in close proximity to the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 driven by Michael Christensen, which left the Dane unable to improve upon his fastest lap.

***Estre told Sportscar365: “Michael improved his first sector and set a fastest sector two and then in sector three the Ferrari in front of us spun. For me, it’s not usual. You can search for a long time to find a GTE-Pro car spinning in qualifying on his last lap, in front of a car which is improving for pole. A lot of coincidence, which is a bit strange. We are not in the car, we don’t know, but I just thought it was a bit weird.”

***According to a Ferrari spokesperson, Pier Guidi’s spin was a result of the Italian pushing hard in the battle for pole.

***Estre explained that the decision to bring the No. 92 car in for a second set of tires was not a pre-determined decision by Porsche, but was instead made at the last moment when it became clear that Christensen’s lap would not be quick enough for pole.

***Toyota chose not to build a new chassis for the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season “quite early” according to team director Rob Leupen, who told Sportscar365 that the call was made around this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. As previously reported, the Japanese manufacturer will roll out with an evolution of the GR010 Hybrid next year, with subtle updates to the current car.

***At least one of Porsche’s 911 RSR-19s competing in the final GTE-Pro race on Saturday will “for sure” go to the Porsche Museum according to Head of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach, who has ruled out the cars competing in customers’ hands next year due to their current surplus of chassis.

***Laudenbach told Sportscar365 that the final two drivers for the Porsche Penske Motorsport program will be announced on Monday. As previously reported, former factory ace Nick Tandy is widely believed to be one of the drivers, with both Pascal Wehrlein and Fred Makowiecki having recently been a part of the German manufacturer’s 36-hour endurance test at Sebring International Raceway.

***A decision on reserve drivers for the dual WEC and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program have not yet been taken according to Laudenbach, who indicated that race drivers from the opposite series could be placed on standby.

***The name of the FIA and ACO’s new GT3-based class, which will replace GTE-Am in the WEC in 2024, will be confirmed during the next World Motor Sport Council meeting on Dec. 7 according to ACO President Pierre Fillon. Multiple names have been floated around in recent months, incorporating the GT, GT3 and/or Le Mans monikers.

***Multiple paddock sources have indicated that the LMP2 technical regulations have been extended through the end of the 2025 season, in what’s believed to have been the fourth delay of the new regs that are now not expected to debut until 2026 at the earliest. The FIA and ACO have declined to comment on the matter.

***United Autosports team co-owner and managing director Richard Dean said that an extension for one additional year would be the “sensible thing” to do amid the arrival of LMDh machinery. “Introducing a new P2 car with all of the four license-holders for P2 chassis are heavily involved at the moment in LMDh projects, so I think that’s a big ask for them,” Dean told Sportscar365. “It gives them some breathing space so I think that’s sensible.”

***The change is believed to not impact the eligibility of LMP2 machinery in WEC, which is currently only confirmed through the end of next season. While not yet announced, it’s widely believed the WEC will feature only two classes in Hypercar and the yet-to-be-named Pro-Am GT3-based category in 2024.

***Dean told Sportscar365 that United has provisionally come to a solution in replacement drivers for Filipe Albuquerque and Tom Blomqvist for the WEC races at Portimao and Monza, which clash with IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds next year.

***He said: “If that continues, as they add an eighth race, it must be harder to avoid conflict. It’s going to be harder on the drivers as there’s more demand on drivers now at the top level as the manufacturers come in, so it creates even bigger problems for teams.”

***Nico Mueller has ruled out a return to the Rolex 24 at Daytona next year due to the clashing ABB FIA Formula E World Championship rounds in Saudi Arabia that same weekend.

***Michelin has brought its 2022-specification tires to the Porsche and Ferrari GTE-Am cars in Bahrain after it reverted to the 2021 spec at Fuji due to production capacity issues.

***Nicki Thiim is relishing the chance to go up against his fellow two-time GTE world champion Marco Sorensen in the GTE-Am title contest between two Aston Martin teams: “We’re best friends so it’s part of our job,” Thiim told Sportscar365. “We did it perfectly with two Astons in it to win it. We take it as it is, having fun and living the dream.”

***Further updates to the rookie test entry list are expected, with FIA Formula 2 driver Marcus Armstrong set to sample the Richard Mille Racing Oreca 07 Gibson on Sunday. Armstrong has been spending time with Signatech this week.

***French photography agency DPPI won the inaugural 1 Hour of Bahrain media karting race on Thursday night after Porsche’s media team was stripped of its victory due to a scoring-related technical issue. The race took place at the Bahrain International Karting Circuit directly adjacent to the venue for this weekend’s WEC decider.

***The Le Mans centenary trophy has continued its world tour and is on-site at Bahrain International Circuit this weekend. Unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concourse in August, it has made recent appearances at  at the Goodwood Revival and Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille.

***The FIA World Touring Car Cup is a support series this weekend, for the series’ penultimate weekend in its current guise. Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is here as well. Nicky Catsburg, who is sharing next year’s GTE-Am Chevrolet Corvette C8.R with Ben Keating, is racing a BRC Hyundai N Racing Team Elantra N TCR in WTCR.

***Goodyear has a dual commitment this weekend between WTCR and LMP2. The American company’s European motorsport arm has the same chief engineer across both programs, while some other personnel are also dipping into both series.

***The Royal Air Force Red Arrows shared some spectacular footage of their flight display over the circuit as part of the Bahrain International Airshow.

***The 8 Hours of Bahrain gets underway Saturday at 2 p.m. local time, with live coverage on Motor Trend in the U.S. and Canada from 5:30-7 a.m. ET and again from 1-2:30 p.m. for the finish. The entire race will be carried live on Eurosport 2 in Europe. Click Here to download the full broadcast schedule.

Davey Euwema and Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John