Bahrain Wednesday Notebook

***The FIA World Endurance Championship season finale kicked off with an open-air barbecue in the paddock on Wednesday evening. This weekend marks the WEC’s 12th race at Bahrain International Circuit, and its fifth under the current eight-hour format.

***Peugeot technical director Olivier Jansonnie hopes the longer race in Bahrain will enable the French manufacturer to be more competitive than it was at Fuji. “Hopefully the race will be less straightforward and less green and clean, and there will be some options to play different games on strategy,” he said. “And potentially some opportunities for manufacturers to overcome a little bit the relative performance level of the cars.”

***The tire allocation for qualifying and the race is six-and-a-half sets for Hypercar and LMP2, and eight-and-a-half sets for GTE-Am. All classes have two more sets of tires available compared to a six-hour race like Fuji.

***Hypercar supplier Michelin has brought its medium and hard slick tires to Bahrain, reprising the allocation from the previous round in Japan.

***Jansonnie said that Peugeot’s decision to drop Gustavo Menezes for Stoffel Vandoorne next season was mostly a “matter of timing and contract duration.” When asked about whether performance was a factor, he replied: “Not really, to be honest. Gustavo is a very performant driver. There is no discussion on that topic. It’s purely a question of contracts and team decision.”

***Peugeot driver Nico Mueller revealed that he broke his left shoulder in a fall during a TV work commitment at the Nürburgring in late summer, causing him to miss Fuji.

***Mueller needed an operation after the accident. “I was pretty annoyed because it was the first week of summer break and the last commitment I had for like a month,” he said. “The problem was not really the bone, but the ligaments are sensitive there. I just had to be on the safe side, not to be stressed too early.”

***The Swiss driver used a simulator and physiotherapy sessions on his return to full fitness. He then returned to the wheel of a race car at last week’s Formula E pre-season test. “The [seating] position is a little bit different to what it is here,” he said. “But that was the maximum stress test because the Formula E car has no power steering. It’s quite physical, so that was good to get back into the groove.”

***Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle indicated that Porsche Penske Motorsport could utilize a reserve driver in its WEC roster for portions of next year. This season, the German manufacturer did not have a specific driver on-site at races, outside of Matt Campbell at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

***Kuratle told Sportscar365: “The clashes make it difficult to have one of the IMSA [drivers]. I doubt we will have a plan all the way through next season but we will have a plan for the first couple of races in IMSA and WEC and then we’ll see how we go.”

***GR Racing has a special livery for the final race of the season, which could also be the British squad’s last WEC race for a while considering it was not selected as one of Porsche’s LMGT3 teams. The No. 86 Porsche 911 RSR-19 has a new black and gold design with the word ‘farewell’ written across the bodywork.

***Kessel Racing adjusted its GTE-Am lineup for Bahrain to evaluate potential future options for Silver-rated drivers next year according to team manager Tiziana Borghi. French single-seater racer Esteban Masson has replaced Scott Huffaker, who will be upgraded to Gold next year, in the No. 57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. Kessel is unlikely to remain in WEC after AF Corse was given the two Ferrari LMGT3 entries.

***A group of 28 Girl Guides of Bahrain had a day out at Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday, learning about all that goes in during a WEC race weekend.

***JOTA recently filed a request to check if it can run a two-driver lineup in two six-hour races next season, potentially offering a hint at the team’s Hypercar lineup. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races clash with the six-hour WEC rounds at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps.

***Ferrari AF Corse tested its 499P at Bahrain International Circuit last month in preparation for its first race at the venue. The outing coincided with a test for Michelin’s next-generation wet weather tires at Paul Ricard, so Ferrari mobilized its Hypercar reserve drivers Alessio Rovera and Davide Rigon for the session in France.

***The ACO’s Mission H24 hydrogen project featured at last week’s Ballon d’Or soccer awards. Stephane Richelmi drove the H24 prototype through the streets of Paris, transporting the trophy to the Theatre du Chatelet where the ceremony took place.

***Three drivers – Filipe Albuquerque, Robert Kubica and Albert Costa – are in contention to win the inaugural Goodyear Wingfoot Award. The initiative rewards the LMP2 driver who posts the fastest stint average, measured in average lap time over two consecutive stints. Albuquerque and Kubica are level, with Costa 16 points back in third.

***Team WRT drivers Kubica, Louis Deletraz and Rui Andrade lead Albert Costa, Jakub Smiechowski and Fabio Scherer by 33 points in the LMP2 standings. United Autosports duo Frederick Lubin and Phil Hanson sit one point further back in third place.

***Talking about his lineup’s strong title chances, Kubica told Sportscar365: “I don’t want to say fully comfortable because in motorsport, until you [take] the checkered flag you can never be sure. Of course there is a kind of puzzle where our main competitors have to win the race. So for sure they will not make our life easy but I think we have to focus on our job without thinking of the others.”

***Toyota Gazoo Racing will announce its Hypercar driver lineup just after the final round of the World Rally Championship season which concludes in Japan on Nov. 19.

***It is unclear if Toyota will also reveal the lineup for its planned two-car Lexus LMGT3 effort with Akkodis ASP. Hypercar driver Jose Maria Lopez recently tested the Lexus RC F GT3 at Portimao. “He enjoys touring cars and GT cars, so he was there with Jack Hawksworth, our IMSA champion,” said Toyota WEC technical director Pascal Vasselon.

***Vasselon added that the opportunity for Hawksworth and Barnicoat to sample the Toyota GR010 Hybrid during Sunday’s WEC rookie test is “just a nice opportunity.” He told Sportscar365: “There is nothing to read behind [it]. We are happy to offer our two IMSA champions a go in our car. I’m sure they will enjoy it.”

***Toyota is unlikely to request a third Hypercar entry at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. “Every year we are asking ourselves the question, and almost every year the conclusion is the same,” said Vasselon. “It’s better to have a strong operation with two cars than more problems with three cars. We will probably review again this situation, but I would think that we stay with two cars.”

***The deadline for entry requests for the 2024 WEC season is at midday on Nov. 20, with the full season entry list set to be released on Nov. 27.

***Thursday’s track action starts with Free Practice 1 at 12:15 p.m. local time (5:15 a.m. EDT).

John Dagys and Davey Euwema contributed to this report