October - December
The Porsche Team targets podium finish in Bahrain
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), round 7, Sakhir (Bahrain), LMP1 preview
Stuttgart
. For the seventh and penultimate round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the
All six LMP1 works drivers – Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Brendon Hartley, Marc Lieb and Mark Webber – will be driving the
Quotes before the race:
Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1: “Our first season has hardly given us a breather. First we focussed on Le Mans and now the races with their individual challenges come in quick succession. We are proud that the
Drivers car number 14
Romain Dumas (36, France): “I hope at least in Bahrain we will have a race weekend with no rain – it would be the first one in this WEC season. Also for the first time we are going to a track which isn’t completely new to our
Neel Jani (30, Switzerland): “The Bahrain International Circuit is pretty much a stop-and-go track, and this should make it a good stage to show the performance of our
Marc Lieb (34, Germany): “Although our test in Bahrain was in the early days of the project in February, it should help us to start doing proper set up work right from the first session. The track’s lay-out is rather simple with plenty of long braking from high speed, for which we must get the hybrid system’s settings right. I think this is one of our strengths that we may benefit from in Bahrain.”
Drivers car number 20
Timo Bernhard (33, Germany): “Tyre wear is high on the Bahrain circuit and there are some good places for overtaking. I love driving in the dark and I hope I get a chance to be in the car after sunset. We have to see what the temperatures will be, as for the starting drivers it can be really hot and tough. About the circuit itself: The esses in the beginning of sector two are great. Corner ten is very special, as it has a blind apex and then closes. Sector three, with the long right hander, I find really cool. The last corner before the finish line again is tricky, as it’s got a tight apex and opens up quickly afterwards.”
Brendon Hartley (25, New Zealand): “I know Bahrain from my GP2 days and from testing with the 919 Hybrid. After the recent races have been progressively more encouraging with podium finishes and our pole position in Shanghai, we feel a bit more confident. I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be as or perhaps even more competitive in Bahrain. I’m looking forward to it. In case it is hot, this doesn’t only affect us drivers but also the cooling of the car. In this regard we should be able to benefit from our experience in Austin, so I think the team is well prepared.”
Mark Webber (38, Australia): “To me the best thing about Bahrain is the weather, which is really nice. Apparently I have never found out the secrets of that place, but perhaps this will change now thanks to Timo and Brendon. Technically the circuit should be good for us and for our car. It will be interesting to see how our performance develops, especially as we have been testing in Bahrain early this year.”
Facts and figures:
- The six-hours of Bahrain will start on Saturday, November 15, at 15:00 hrs local time. Sunset will be at 16:48 hrs.
- There are different circuit layouts available in Bahrain, but the WEC runs on the same one as Formula One. One lap is 5.412 kilometres long and has eight right handers and six left handers. The start-finish straight is 1.090 kilometres.
- The Bahrain International Circuit opened in 2004 and is located about 30 kilometres outside Bahrain’s capital of Manama.
- Over 30 islands in the Persian Gulf belong to the Kingdom. Its size is around 750 square kilometres – half the size of the city of London.
- Bahrain has nearly 1.2 million inhabitants.
- So far, after six out of eight races in the
Please note: Photo and video material relating to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) are available for accredited journalists from the
GO
10.11.2014