Manama, May 17 (BNA): The 2015 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) has gotten underway, with two rounds already complete and another five remaining before the highly competitive endurance series heads to Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir for the curtain-closing Six Hours of Bahrain.
The WEC takes the kingdom by storm November 20 and 21 at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.
Former champions Audi have so far won the opening two rounds of the season, first taking the overall chequered flag at the Six Hours of Silverstone in the UK and then adding to that with a victory in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The Audi trio of Benoît Tréluyer, André Lotterer and Marcel F?ssler are currently with 50 points and they enjoy a 14-point lead in the FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship. Porsche teammates Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas lie in second place.
In the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers Championship, Audi are on 70 points and they own a 17-point lead over Porsche, with Toyota a further six points behind.
Two second place finishes and one pole position ensures that the G-Drive Ligier entry of Pipo Derani, Ricardo Gonzalez and Gustavo Yacaman top the LMP2 Drivers points. Although they finished second on the road at Spa, the all-Latin American crewed Ligier score first placed points as the JOTA Sport entry does not score because it is only a race by race entrant.
In the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers things could not be closer with Aston Martin leading Ferrari by just one point. Three points cover each of the entered manufacturers as Porsche are just a point further behind Ferrari.
The FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers’ sees an equally close table with reigning champions Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander defending their title with a slender one point lead from Richard Lietz.
Their team – AF Corse lead the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams by three points from Aston Martin Racing. After a perfect score the #98 Aston Martin Racing trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy comfortably lead the way in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Drivers’.
Aston Martin Racing lead the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams by the same margin as the Drivers table – 16 points.
The third round of the FIA WEC season is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, taking place June 13 and 14. Races will then be held in Germany, the US, Japan, and China before heading to Bahrain.
To find out more about this year’s FIA WEC or November’s Six Hours of Bahrain, visit the BIC’s website, www.bahraingp.com, or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.
Also, find BIC on Facebook (facebook.com/OfficialBahrainInternationalCircuit), follow BIC’s official accounts on Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit) and Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit), and subscribe to BIC’s channel on YouTube (youtube.com/bahrainbic) to get regular updates on the world-class Sakhir circuit.
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BNA 1427 GMT 2015/05/17