LMP2 Champions ‘Didn’t Expect’ to Win Race in WRT 1-2 Finish

Photo: MPS Agency

Louis Deletraz admitted that he and co-drivers Robert Kubica and Rui Andrade didn’t expect to win Saturday’s 8 Hours of Bahrain, after having placed their focus on securing the LMP2 title following a challenging start to the weekend for the No. 41 Team WRT entry.

The trio walked away as the final LMP2 champions in the FIA World Endurance Championship, having needed to only finish eighth or higher in the race.

It came despite the No. 31 car starting tenth out of the 11-car class after initially struggling for pace on Thursday and into Friday.

“We knew WRT was quite dominant here the last few years here but the new regulations with the tire pressure and minimum cambers I think were definitely not in the window the whole weekend, [from] FP1 to FP2, FP3 through quali,” Deletraz told Sportscar365.

“We did big changes for the race and we were competitive and we executed very well. My two teammates were amazing.

“To win, it was not expected but we’ll take it.”

A wheel gun issue for the sister No. 31 Oreca 07 Gibson of Robin Frijns resulted in a longer final stop for the Dutchman and put Deletraz out into the lead and en route to their third class victory of the season.

“I feel sorry for them because they deserved it as much as us,” Deletraz said.

“We had an issue earlier on where we lost eight seconds in the pits as well, with a seat belt where one of the seat belts Robert didn’t put on. So we had to wait and it delayed the stop.

“In the end, it compensates. But you never wish anything to them. They deserved it; they had a tough year and they all did a good job.

“Of course we’ll take it; it’s racing. I think they understand it. But it’s still a great 1-2 for WRT.”

It marked WRT’s fourth consecutive LMP2 class win in Bahrain, dating back to the six-hour contest that served as a replacement round in the Coronavirus pandemic-impacted 2021 season.

Aside from its seat belt hiccup, Deletraz said the rest of the race was “pretty clean” for the No. 41 crew.

“We just wanted to keep our nose out of trouble,” he said. “Starting tenth was not ideal; I did a bad quali yesterday but Rui did a great job; he avoided all the trouble.

“Then it was quite smooth. We had nothing special, we just executed and made good strategy.

“I think to the others, what made the difference is that we saved fuel. We saved fuel and didn’t even look behind and everyone had to splash in the end, pretty much. That was the main difference.”

Deletraz, a two-time ELMS LMP2 champion, earned his first world championship title, which the Swiss driver admitted was an “amazing” feeling.

“It’s very important,” he said. “It means a lot to me because I was able to win ELMS last year and with Tower, I didn’t win the [IMSA] championship myself because I missed a race but we won it with Tower as a team.

“To be able to win WEC was the last opportunity, so being world champion is pretty amazing. We worked the whole year for that. We had a fantastic season.

“To finish it with WRT and WEC like this is amazing. I love LMP2.”

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