• Categories
    • Car Racing
    • Featured Articles
    • Motor Shows & Car Events
    • History of Cars
    • Automotive Photography
    • Behind the Scenes
    • #MiniSeries
    • Travel
    • Review Books
    • Review Cars
    • Review Products
  • Porsche Only
    • Engine downsizing at Porsche racing
    • PORSCHE 911 RSR – MARCH OF PROGRESS
    • Porsche 919 Hybrid – Technological Advantage
    • Déjà Vu of Porsche 911 2.4 S – Part 2
  • Book Shop
    • AC-Shelby Cobra
    • Ferrari 250 GTO: Owners’ Workshop Manual
    • Ferrari Design: The Definitive Study
    • Jaguar E-type: Portrait of a Design Icon
    • Porsche 956 962: A Photographic History
    • Porsche 911 Carrera RS interactive eBook
    • Porsche 911 Scrapbook: The Air-Cooled Cars
    • Porsche 917: The Complete Photographic History
    • Porsche 924/928/944/968
    • Porsche at Le Mans
    • Porsche: The Carrera Dynasty
  • About
  • Contributors
    • Alisdair Cusick
    • Annie Proffit
    • Elke Smale
    • Glen Smale
    • John Mountney
    • Pim van der Veer
    • Roland Harrison
    • Zoltan Papp
  • Contact

Virtual Motorpix

Blog site for Virtual Motorpix with interesting articles on racing, motor sports and cars

6h of Bahrain – Last round gentlemen

November 18, 2016 by: Virtual Motorpix | Leave a Comment

#1, Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team, driven by Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
#1 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley during Free Practice for the 6 Hours of Bahrain 2016

As the leaves and the temperatures start to fall at VMP Towers, thoughts go to the warmth of the Bahraini welcome which awaits the FIA WEC family as we gather in the desert to watch the 6h of Bahrain, 2016 season finale. So, without further ado, it’s ‘last round gentlemen’ as windscreens get polished, tyres checked and mirrors adjusted for that last blast in the desert at the Bahrain International Circuit.

#7, Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi Sport Team Joest, driven by Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer put their #7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro through its paces during Free Practice for the 6 Hours of Bahrain on Thursday 17 November 2016

With the LMP1 manufacturers and LMP2 team champions already decided, it is just the small matter of the Drivers’ Championship together with the GTE Pro and Am classes to decide.

#2, Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
WEC Drivers’ Championship leaders, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, prepare their #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid during Free Practice for the 2016 6 Hours of Bahrain

Last year was a very relaxed time. The warm sunshine and the end of season feeling was like the last day of term before the summer holidays. Time was spent chatting in the shade and looking forward with some certainty as to what 2016 had in store. This year, I suspect, will be very different as there is definitely a shortage of certainty!

Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer
Benoît Tréluyer (left) and Marcel Fässler (right) discuss lap times during the Free Practice session for the 6 Hours of Bahrain 2016

Audi’s decision to withdraw at the end of 2016 sent shockwaves through the paddock, but perhaps it wasn’t surprising as the possibility always existed that one of the two VAG teams would withdraw sooner or later. Audi have not had their finest year, and to them winning is everything, even if it was the ‘wrong Audi’ that won.

#8, Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi Sport Team Joest, driven by Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
The #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis during Free Practice for the 6 Hours of Bahrain on 17 November 2016

There seems to be a whole lot of uncertainty surrounding the VAG LMP1 driver pool which has been thrown up in the air, with both Audi and Porsche drivers battling for seats in the two 2017 919 Hybrids. Although it has not been officially confirmed as yet, Nick Tandy is widely tipped as a strong candidate for a 919-seat next year. Personally, I like Nick a lot, he is really good guy as well as being a phenomenal driver.

Andre Lotterer
Andre Lotterer in contemplative mood during Free Practice for the 2016 6 Hours of Bahrain

With so much talent in the VAG driver pool, it is thought that Porsche might be keeping a seat for Audi driver Andre Lotterer in 2017, despite a lack lustre performance in 2016. All of this is still speculation of course, but there will be immense pressure on Bernhard, Hartley, Dumas, Jani, Lieb, Fässler, Tréluyer and Jarvis in Bahrain, as they vie for seats in the 2017 Porsche 919. I personally think Di Grassi and Duval will go to Formula E, so it will be interesting to see who has a seat when the music stops.

#7, Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi Sport Team Joest, driven by Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
The #7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer during Free Practice ahead of the 6 Hours of Bahrain on 17 November 2016

There will no doubt be much talk and speculation in the paddock around those well-worn favourites, BoP and EoT, and further column inches will be taken up by the new LMP2 set up for 2017 and the future of GTE Pro and Am.

#78, Porsche 911 RSR,
The #78 Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Wolf Henzler and Joël Camathias calls into the pits during Free Practice for the 6 Hours of Bahrain on Thursday 17 November 2016

Let’s hope the sideshows will not overshadow the main event, and that we have a good clean race to bring this year and the championship to an exciting and safe conclusion.

STOP PRESS

Allan McNish
Ex-works driver Allan McNish in the Audi pits during Free Practice at the 6 Hours of Bahrain 2016

I bumped into Allan McNish in the paddock he said that his plans for next year are as the Head of Audi Formula E, a job he has been doing for the last two months. Although he didn’t seem to fancy the idea of being a driver in Formula E, he admitted that it represented the future of motor racing. On the question of what was to happen with the mechanics and technicians involved with the Audi LMP1 team, he said that they would be absorbed into Audi. When pushed on what would happen to the Joest operation, that he suggested was going to be trickier, at which point he said he had to dash, and scuttled off.

#67, Ford GT, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, driven by Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, 6 Hours of Bahrain, 17/11/2016,
The #67 Ford GT of Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell give it their all during Free Practice for the 6 Hours of Bahrain on Thursday 17 November 2016

Harry Tincknell (#67 Ford GT) on the other hand was happy with their team’s performance having won the last two races. On the question of BoP though, Tincknell admitted that he hated it, and confessed that they were likely to suffer a BoP penalty in Bahrain based on their recent performances. He questioned why they bothered trying to improve, when all that happened was that they picked up penalties through the BoP index.

Written by: John Mountney
Photos by: John Mountney

Save article as PDF
Share this:

Categories: Automotive Photography, Car Racing, Featured Articles Tags: 2016, Audi, Bahrain, Ford, Porsche, WEC

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Top quality commentary and photography on cars, motoring and motorsport across the ages.

Advertisement

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

E-mail Subscription

Please complete the form below if you would like to receive e-mail updates of new posts from Virtual Motorpix Blog.

Recent Articles

  • Toyota Gazoo Racing – 2017 WEC Plans
  • FCA (Fiat Chrysler Alfa) Driving Event Cardiff
  • Fiat 124 Sport Spider
  • Fiat 500
  • Jaguar E-type Restoration – Part 2
  • Cobra-Ferrari Wars 1963-1965
All Tags ››

Archives

Our other websites

Join us on Facebook

Please share our website

Follow us on Twitter

Tweets by Virtual Motorpix Blog

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Connect with us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Virtual Motorpix. All Rights Reserved.

 

Loading Comments...