Bahrain Pre-Race Notebook

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

***There will be a moment of silence on the grid prior to the race to honor those affected by the recent Paris attacks. All FIA WEC staff are wearing a black armband in remembrance as well. Both the FIA and WEC are based in the French capital.

***Newly appointed Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Mueller is in attendance this weekend. Mueller will see one of drivers from one of VW’s companies walk away with the World Drivers’ Championship, with Porsche having already locked up the Manufacturers’ World Championship in Shanghai.

***Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard and Mark Webber’s extra point for scoring pole means the trio head into today with a 13-point lead over Audi’s Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler. It means the No. 17 Porsche trio will only need a fourth place finish or better to be crowned World Champions.

***Dieter Gass, Head of Audi DTM, is on-site this weekend instead of Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who has elected to stay home due to persistent back pain. Ullrich misses his first WEC race of the season.

***Michelin teams will have the choice of Soft HT (High Temperatures), Soft HT Plus or Medium HT tires in LMP1 and Medium, Medium BT (Low Temperatures) or Medium HT in GTE-Pro and GTE-Am. Bahrain is one of the circuits where LMP1 teams are allowed two additional sets of tires in the race (8 sets).

***Hartley told Sportscar365 that he could take part in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. The 26-year-old Kiwi, on the verge of winning the world title, has participated at Daytona for the last three years in a Starworks Motorsport DP.

***Occasional FIA WEC driver Abdulaziz Al Faisal is taking part in this weekend’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East race, which is one of four support series in action. The Saudi driver is launching his own team, Al Faisal Racing, for 2016.

***Be sure to download Andy Blackmore’s NISMO Spotter Guide, featuring all 32 starters for Saturday’s race.

***The Six Hours of Bahrain will be broadcast live on the FOX Sports family of networks, beginning Saturday at 7 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 before moving to FS2 at 9 a.m. for the final four hours of the season finale with commentary from the world broadcast feed of John Hindhaugh, Graham Goodwin and Louise Beckett.

***British Eurosport will also carry the race live, with commentary from Mark Cole and Carlton Kirby. Coverage begins Saturday at 5 p.m. UK/6 p.m. CET with highlights of the first five hours and coverage of the last hour of racing. Click Here for the full worldwide broadcast schedule.

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