Le Mans/WEC – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Tactics, teammates key to WEC title battles at Bahrain finale

The FIA WEC season finale is upon us, with track action now underway at the Bahrain International Circuit. At the head of the field in Hypercar, the spotlight is on the championship battles. After Pure Rxcing clinched the LMGT3 honors last time out, the Hypercar drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles are set to be awarded on Saturday night after one final showdown under the lights in Sakhir.

A glance at the headline Hypercar points standings tells you it’s Porsche’s to lose, but nobody in the Penske garage believes it will be a stroll in the park. “That’s not how motorsport works,” noted Urs Kuratle, the head of Porsche’s factory LMDh program.

So what’s the situation?

In the drivers’ standings, the leaders in the No. 6 Porsche — André Lotterer, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor — became the first trio to win two races this year last time out in Japan and, as a result, find themselves with one hand each on the trophy, 35 points clear at the top. With a maximum score of just 39 points now available, all they need is an eighth-place finish or better to seal the deal.

Porsche’s No. 6 crew have executed consistently well, but there’s still eight tricky hours to go before they can count their mission accomplished JEP/Motorsport Images

The pressure is still on, though. One silly error or mechanical hiccup during the eight-hour race and it’ll be game on, bringing Ferrari’s Le Mans winning No. 50 crew of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen or Toyota’s full-season No. 7 duo of Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries back into play. Ferrari’s crew are 35 points back, while Toyota’s is 37. The mountain they must climb to turn things around is steep, but not insurmountable.

“You’re never comfortable until you win it. We are not getting carried away with our lead, we just have to keep our heads down and not think about it,” Lotterer told RACER. “We have to just tackle the tasks in front of us — there’s no reason to change the approach to it, we just need to manage mistakes and risks.

“We have improved our car for this circuit quite a bit compared to last year, as last time our setup was not ideal. So we hope to be OK.”

In the immediate aftermath of the race at Fuji, where both Ferrari and Toyota’s efforts faltered after the No. 50 499P tumbled down the leaderboard to ninth in the closing stages and the No. 7 GR010 crashed out, the mood in both camps was understandably downbeat. Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars, Ferdinando Cannizzo, even came out and admitted to reporters that he felt the title battle was “all but over.”

But with time to reflect and prepare for the final race, there is still the belief that the deficit can be overcome, particularly at Ferrari. This is because it expects that the “Joker” update introduced for the 499P in Brazil to improve brake cooling and aero efficiency will give it a leg up this weekend.

While the notoriously abrasive track surface will still present a huge tire management challenge to its drivers, the car should be better suited to dealing with the ambient temperature, which is expected to hover between 77 and 86 degrees F all weekend.

Ferrari is hopeful the updates to its 499P introduced in Brazil will provide a leg up in Bahrain. JEP/Motorsport Images

“We want to win the championship as well as Le Mans, and we know doing both is difficult,” said Nielsen. “The chances are quite small, but we have nothing to lose — we want to give it our best shot.”

“Early in the race in Bahrain is tough when it’s hot, it’s going to be about managing the tires. Usually, our car gets faster when the temperature drops, so hopefully we can be there at the end.”

In the manufacturers’ title race, it’s a different story. Porsche’s advantage is just 10 points over Toyota and 27 over Ferrari.

This is where the performance of the sister cars could prove to be vital. The No. 5, No. 8 and No. 51 crews from Porsche, Toyota and Ferrari respectively, will need to be dialed in, as they have a real opportunity to play their part despite being out of the hunt for driver honors.

While Toyota’s No. 7 maintains slim hopes in the driver’s standings, the marque is still well placed in the manufacturers’ race heading into Saturday’s finale. Motorsport Images

“We go into the last race with the destiny of the manufacturers’ world championship still in our control,” Toyota’s team principal & driver Kamui Kobayashi points out. “We know that a win will give us the title so that is our target, and everyone will give their maximum to achieve it. We need a perfect weekend and we’re ready for the challenge.”

Nevertheless, the level of both confidence and expectation is high at Porsche, as it should be. 2024 has been a spectacular turnaround year for the Porsche Penske Motorsport operation on both sides of the Atlantic. It has gone from soul searching to trophy hunting in a matter of months and finds itself on the brink of a clean sweep of Hypercar and IMSA GTP titles.

“Our team converted the penalty kick in the IMSA title fight. Now, we also want to win the FIA WEC championship,” said Thomas Laudenbach, the vice president of Porsche Motorsport. “We’ve improved considerably in the second year of our global program and unfailingly made the most of our opportunities. I expect nothing less at the upcoming race weekend in Bahrain.

“If we approach our mission with the same concentration and consistency as in the previous rounds, then we’ll achieve our goal: 2024 world champions in the manufacturer and driver categories.”

Advantage BMW in second Bahrain WEC practice

After Peugeot set the pace in the opening practice session of the WEC weekend in Bahrain, BMW Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor reeled off a 1m48.257s in the No. 15 M Hybrid V8 to top Free Practice 2 under the floodlights. The Belgian’s lap is the fastest …

The Belgian’s lap is the fastest time of the week so far, 2.6 seconds quicker than Paul Di Resta’s session-topping time from FP1 earlier today. It was also a tenth faster than Matt Campbell in the No. 5 Porsche, which slotted in second this evening as the track began to rubber in and the temperature dropped.

The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari, which was quick in FP1, finished up the night third, ahead of the No. 7 Toyota which made it four manufacturers in the top four, all setting times within four tenths.

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The top five in the penultimate practice session of the season was completed by the Le Mans-winning No. 50 Ferrari, Antonio Fuoco setting the car’s best time, a 1m48.701s.

As for Peugeot, its rapid form from this afternoon didn’t carry over as both crews continued to run through their practice programs. The pair of 9X8s ended up at the bottom of the Hypercar timing screens, 17th and 18th, both over five seconds off the pace. Significantly, though, Peugeot spent the entire session with both cars running on used tires.

In the LMGT3 ranks, however, Lexus’ fast start the weekend continued, with AKKODIS ASP’s No. 87 RC F LMGT3 leading the way this time after the sister car finished FP1 on top. Frenchman Esteban Masson set the time, a 2m02.246s, putting himself 0.7s clear of the other drivers.

TF Sport’s No. 82 Corvette took second, while Vista AF Corse claimed third in the classification with its No. 55 296 LMGT3.

FP2 was another clean session, which ran almost mostly green. The only notable incident was minor and came at Turn 1. Ferrari’s Alessandro Pier Guidi was handed a reprimand for colliding with the D’Station Aston Martin in his No. 51 499P, turning the Vantage around, and scattering a shard of debris across the track.

Track action continues tomorrow at 12:00pm local time with Free Practice 3.

RESULTS

Peugeot starts fast in Bahrain WEC practice

Peugeot TotalEnergies’ No. 94 9X8 topped the timing screens in the first Free Practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship 8 Hours of Bahrain, which was held in bright, sunny conditions. The best time came early on in the running from …

The best time came early on in the running from Paul di Resta, a 1m50.837s, which was 0.49 up on the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Frédéric Makowiecki, who was the only other driver to set a sub-1m51s lap. His tour also came with more than an hour left on the clock. Making it three brands in the top three was the No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, which finished two-tenths adrift with a 1m51.041s.

The sister 9X8 added to Peugeot’s encouraging start to the meeting by slotting in fourth, ahead of the championship-leading No. 6 Penske Porsche that ended up fifth with a 1m51.116s.

Further down the order in eighth and ninth, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s enjoyed a productive session, completing 85 combined laps, the most of any team in the class.

The Fuji pole-setting Cadillac V-Series.R ended up 18th with the lowest total (32 laps) and a time 1.s off the pace.

LMGT3 had AKKODIS ASP’s No. 78 Lexus RC F LMGT3 leading the way, Kelvin van der Linde setting a 2m02.079s.

Alessio Rovera wound up three tenths off in the No. 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari, but quicker than Matteo Carioli, who put the Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan third with a in the second half of the session. This pushed the Fuji-winning No. 54 sister AF Corse 296 LMGT3 to fourth.

There were no major dramas in the 90-minute session, which was only interrupted once by a brief full-course yellow.

Free Practice 2 is set to begin at 5:30pm local time.

RESULTS

Lamborghini the biggest unknown in 2025 GTP/Hypercar picture

With the 2025 FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech Championship seasons now fast approaching, a few key pieces to the entry list jigsaw puzzles for both championships remain. And perhaps the biggest question marks surround the Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 …

Rumors were circulating during the WEC’s visit to Japan last month over the potential for Lamborghini to reverse its original plan to scale up to two Hypercars for 2025 and depart the championship at the end of the current season. Often in these circumstances, one could assume that there’s no smoke without fire; however, background enquiries from RACER to key sources have revealed that, at the time of writing, no firm decisions regarding the 2025 program have yet been made. The clock is ticking, though, and the higher-ups in Lamborghini’s motorsport department are fully aware they must do the sums and make up their minds soon.

So why is Lamborghini on the fence about returning to the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class in 2025 for the SC63’s sophomore season? The issue, principally, is that the car requires significant development to become the race winner that the brand wants it to be. While it has shown flashes of form — most notably at Le Mans where both cars finished after a steady run — attention to the dampers, drivability and weight of the car is required to take the next step.

The SC63 showed promising form at Le Mans but more work is needed to put it on par with the class heavyweights. JEP/Motorsport Images

In many ways, this all stems from the disastrous car-destroying accident at Paul Ricard early in the SC63’s test program, which led to Lamborghini scrambling to ready itself for the homologation deadline. This resulted in it having to make some conservative choices, the knock-on effect being a lengthy prevailing job list of development tasks.

Unfortunately, that list and the time pressures associated with it, coincide with the introduction of the WEC’s “two-car rule,” which requires a factory team to enter two cars in Hypercar from next season. The combined fiscal impact of the second entry, plus the desired development program, is understood to take the factory beyond its currently agreed budget.

Add into the mix that the LMGT3 program in WEC with the Huracan LMGT3 EVO2 is not going to plan, with just a single podium finish (for the No. 60 car at Spa) on the 2024 scoreboard through seven races and you have a significant problem. Thus, there have been rumblings that service provider/program partner Iron Lynx may be looking at other options in LMGT3, should things with Lamborghini move in a direction they are unhappy with.

So what are the available options? In Hypercar, Lamborghini could opt to enter a pair of SC63s for the 2025 season, building on its maiden single-car campaign this year. The regulations do not permit it either to field a single factory car, nor a privately entered Lamborghini, if two factory-nominated cars are not entered. Effectively it is two, or none.

For IMSA, the possibilities in GTP are somewhat more flexible. A single car for the full season, a single car for the Endurance Cup, both, or two in either the full season or Endurance Cup are on the table. At present a single car is listed for the Endurance Cup — but that could change.

Iron Lynx is set to continue with its Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, but the Iron Dames may be fielding a different car. Jakob Ebrey/Motorsport Images)

In LMGT3, Iron Lynx looks set to continue with Lamborghini but the all-female crewed Iron Dames effort may switch to Porsche, mirroring its European Le Mans Series program, but with Manthey operating the car rather than Proton.

This shift would see the Dames replace LMGT3 championship winner Pure Rxcing as it switches to LMP2 in the Asian LMS and ELMS together with TF Sport. In that case, the Dames would likely find themselves racing alongside another new signing for Manthey: Ryan Hardwick, one of Proton’s current Bronze drivers for its Ford Mustang LMGT3 project.

Crucially, there seems to be no risk of the FIA WEC organizers counting out an LMGT3 effort as a standalone, in the wake of a pause in the Hypercar program. They look set to play the long game.

Lamborghini’s new GT3 car — based around the just launched Temerario road car — is due in 2026 and track testing is believed to be getting underway any time now. There may also be potential for the SC63 to return to the FIA WEC down the line if it walks away over the winter. Lamborghini Squadra Corse may, for instance, opt to take a sabbatical with the WEC program and push in the background to free up the subsequent development budget required to improve the car.

Making a final call on the above is now very urgent, not least because among the options to replace the SC63s in the WEC entry are a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos. And those cars need time to be put through the LMGT3 homologation process, which AMG will not undertake without a guarantee of entries.

Management change for Toyota WEC program

Toyota’s FIA WEC boss Rob Leupen will leave Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe at the end of 2024 after 30 years of service, as part of a “renewal of the brand’s leadership structure.” The 60-year-old Dutchman first joined what is now TGR Europe in 1995, …

Toyota’s FIA WEC boss Rob Leupen will leave Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe at the end of 2024 after 30 years of service, as part of a “renewal of the brand’s leadership structure.”

The 60-year-old Dutchman first joined what is now TGR Europe in 1995, gradually working his way into the role of general manager and then director of business operations. He later became the managing director in 2015.

“TGR-E began a long-term update of its leadership structure earlier this year,” Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe said in a statement. “With the end of the calendar year approaching, TGR-E announces the next phase in this ongoing process. Rob Leupen will officially depart TGR-E at the end of year, and by mutual agreement, he will suspend his operational role with immediate effect.

“Rob has made an immense contribution to TGR-E and Toyota in motorsport over almost three decades of service and the company places on record its sincere thanks and wishes him success in the next phase of his life.”

Leupen’s exit comes less than 24 hours after GM Motorsports announced that both Laura Wontrop Klauser and Christie Bagne are leaving their leadership roles in the sporting side of the business.

It also follows the shakeup at TGR at the start of the season, which saw long-time technical director Pascal Vasselon replaced by David Floury after nearly two decades in the position.

Wontrop Klauser, Bagne switch to GM road car roles

General Motors is rotating its sports car management team, with longtime GM Sports Car Racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser and Corvette Z06 GT3.R program manager Christie Bagne moving back to the production side of the company. In a …

In a statement on the move, GM stated that, “Motorsports is a platform to hone engineering and leadership skills in a fast-paced highly competitive race environment. Rotating team members back into production and corporate programs is part of our core ‘why we race’ mission. Having experience in motorsports programs helps to enrich our team members’ careers and make GM a stronger company.”

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Klauser will join the Global Hardware Systems and Integration Team as Engineering Group Leader. Concurrently, Bagne will transition to Corporate Strategy as a Senior Analyst. The final race for both will be this weekend’s World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain.

Keely Bosn, currently Future Tech & Mobility Planning Manager in the Competitor Intelligence, Technology and Mobility Planning organization at GM, will join GM Motorsports as the Cadillac Racing Program Manager. Jessica Dane, currently the Motorsports Integration Manager in GM Motorsports, will become the Corvette Racing Program Manager for all Corvette GT3 programs.

Klauser started in the motorsports side of GM in 2016 as Cadillac was fielding the ATS-V.R in World Challenge before the Cadillac DPi program came online, and helped launch the Camaro GT4.R. She became sports car program manager in 2021, spearheading Cadillac’s LMDh program as well as the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Cadillac took the driver, team and manufacturers titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP category last year, across both the full-season championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup.

Bagne moved from system capability engineer to assistant sports car program manager in 2021, assuming the role of Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program in January 2023 as GM was about to release its first customer GT3 car. The Z06 GT3.R found victory lane in both IMSA GTD PRO and Fanatec GT World Challenge America in its inaugural season, as well as carried Orey Fidani to the Bob Akin Award in the GTD category.

Rossi headlines 46-strong FIA WEC Rookie Test entry list

All eyes in the FIA WEC paddock are on this Saturday’s 8 Hours of Bahrain, which will bring the remarkable 2024 season to a close. But the action doesn’t quite end that night, as the Rookie Test is set to take place on Sunday in the aftermath of the …

A full entry list is now available for the day-long test, featuring 36 cars and 46 drivers.

In Hypercar, the headline is the test for MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who will get his first taste of prototype machinery in an M Hybrid V8, a year on from his first WEC test in a BMW M4 GT3 ahead of his LMGT3 program with WRT. He’s listed in both BMWs.

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Rossi will be joined by BMW works drivers Max Hesse and Dan Harper, who will also be using the test as their first opportunity to drive a top class FIA WEC prototype.

Elsewhere, Esteban Masson has been confirmed for a drive at Toyota Gazoo Racing following his run with AKKODIS ASP and Lexus during the season in LMGT3.

Fred Vesti has been handed a drive with Cadillac to help him prepare for his maiden IMSA GTP start at Daytona in January. Also in the 32 are full-season Corvette LMGT3 Pros Charlie Eastwood and Dani Juncadella.

In 2025, former F2 racer Vesti, who spent the 2024 season competing in the ELMS LMP2 class with COOL Racing, will compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds with Action Express.

“It’s a nice start because I know Bahrain, so it’s a known track, new car, which is a good starting point,” he said.

“It will be some good driving to get going with the Cadillac and I’m looking forward to getting my first real experience with the car.

“Quite soon we have the first proper test at Daytona, where I’ll get my first real experience with IMSA. Really happy to be doing that test to learn about the Cadillac.”

The trio of Ferraris have a driver apiece with Arthur Leclerc in the No. 50, Thomas Neubauer in No. 51 and Yifei Ye in the No. 83

“Arthur is doing the Rookie Test but he is not a choice for next year, our goal is to keep him growing so he will be ready to catch more opportunities in prototypes,” Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar boss said during his Finali Mondiali press conference earlier this month.

“We want to help our drivers grow and we are doing the best we can. Next year he will probably be in the GT3. Next year, honestly, we haven’t taken a final decision. But it’s clear that our dream and his dream is to go ahead in the most important championship.”

At Proton, 2025 Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Julien Andlauer is joined by second-generation racer Charlie Wurz.

The list also includes the set of previously confirmed names, including 2023 F2 champion Theo Pourchaire and Clement Novalak set to drive with Peugeot, Victor Martins listed with Alpine and Franck Perera at Lamborghini, where he will be joined by Jordan Pepper.

Reshad De Gerus, meanwhile, will drive the No. 6 Porsche 963 after being nominated by LMEM.

In LMGT3, AKKODIS ASP’s set of drivers includes Silver drivers Aurélien Panis and Paul Evrard and Silver-ranked Petru Razvan Umbrarescu.

Ben Barnicoat, who tested in the Toyota Hypercar at last season’s Rookie Test, will also be in attendance on Lexus duties with ASP, alongside Conrad Laursen, who looks to gain more track time, adding to his one-off appearance with the team scheduled for this weekend in place of Clemens Schmid.

Ex-Audi factory GT driver Mattia Drudi joins Heart of Racing in the No. 27 Aston Martin, and WRT’s BMWs see a pair of Silver-ranked drivers – Swiss Gregory de Sybourg and Belgian Gilles Stadsbade – named, ahead of what RACER expects to be a new-look line-up for the team in 2025.

Vista AF Corse fields a driver apiece, too: Matteo de Palo and Mahaveer Raghunathan and United Autosports will test Alex Sedgwick and Tom Gamble.

Mathey PureRxcing Porsche sees Michelin Le Mans Cup Iron Dame Celia Martin alongside Michelle Gatting and LMEM nominee Gillian Henrion.

The test in Bahrain follows the ACO’s end-of-season European Le Mans Series Rookie Test, held after the 4 Hours of Portimao in Portugal earlier this month.

A number of interesting cars, teams and drivers took part in that too, including two of the four new-for-2025 LMP3 cars from Ligier and ADESS.

One of the most notable faces on hand was now-former Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Dane Cameron, fresh from capturing the 2024 IMSA GTP Drivers’ title. The American drove an ORECA 07 from newly-crowned ELMS LMP2 champion AO by TF, which had two cars on-site.

PJ Hyett and Gunnar Jeanette are not ready to confirm their full LMP2 plans for 2025 just yet, but Hyett tested throughout the running in a spare TF car, with Cameron, 2024 ELMS champion Louis Deletraz and IMSA GTD Pro Champion Laurin Heinrich.

Heinrich’s test was a “thank you gift” from AO Racing following his championship-winning success in GTD PRO this year. Cameron meanwhile, was understandably tight-lipped about his 2025 program, though it appears very likely that he will feature in AO’s plans.

Swiss Aston Martin customer team Racing Spirit of Leman’s movements over the three days of track time was notable, too. The team appears to be closing in on an FIA WEC LMGT3 program with Aston Martin for 2025 following its successes in the Le Mans Cup and ELMS. The squad is looking set to replace D’Station Racing alongside Heart of Racing in the 2025 WEC LMGT3 line-up.

IndyCar driver Kyffin Simpson was also on hand. The 2023 ELMS LMP2 champion drove with his title-winning team Algarve Pro Racing and was understood to be using the opportunity to work with his IndyCar engineer on tire management.

From the WEC paddock, WRT’s Darren Leung took part, driving the 2024 ELMS LMGT3 title-winning Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan. Leung was non-committal when asked about a potential switch from BMW to race the Huracan next year, making it clear that he was enjoying the opportunity to try something different.

Finally, 2024 FIA WEC LMGT3 championship-winning team Pure Rxcing had a presence. The Lithuanian-flagged team — ahead of its move into LMP2 over the winter in the Asian Le Mans Series – utilized the time to get Alex Malykhin dialled in with the ORECA 07 and TF Sport, which it has partnered with for its new venture.

FIA WEC BAHRAIN ROOKIE TEST ENTRY LIST

Michelin lays out development plan for next-gen Hypercar/GTP tire

Michelin has drawn up a new roadmap for the development and rollout of its forthcoming range of Hypercar and GTP tires, which were initially slated to debut in 2025 but have been pushed back a year to the start of the 2026 season. RACER spoke with …

RACER spoke with Michelin’s sportscar operations manager Pierre Alves in the wake of the brand’s decision, which was first communicated in July. By delaying, he explained, Michelin has bought itself sufficient time to refine its new compounds and produce enough stock in time for off-season testing next year.

“The decision to delay was taken prior to the development test that we did (at CoTA) on the 27th of July,” he said. “We knew at the end of July that we would not be able to achieve a new range before 2025.”

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Multiple factors led to the move, including supply chain issues and a reduction in its planned testing time due to poor weather earlier in the year.

“The main reason is simple,” he said. “One of the suppliers we used for a new material that we want to introduce was not ready to provide enough product for the WEC championship. It’s a big production for both championships, and the supplier said the quantity is too much. So we knew it would be difficult to be ready and we cannot introduce a product that is not sustainable.

“The current range works very well in both championships, so we’ve postponed. And we feel that while it would be feasible to produce just two compounds for 2025, it would decrease the performance of the tires dramatically.

“Across IMSA and WEC, we race at so many types of circuits in very different climates. We don’t want to bring new tires that go faster, we want tires that are safer in terms of warm up and more consistent, and this what we are achieving.”

This new material forms a key part of Michelin’s ambitious target to produce slick tires for the WEC and IMSA made from more than 50 percent sustainable materials.

RACER asked Alves for more details on the material in question, but he wasn’t able to disclose any further information at this stage. He did reveal, though, that the new breakthrough material is “used for the composition of the tire compound” and reiterated that it should enable Michelin to hit its aforementioned sustainability target.

He also stressed that Michelin feels it is paramount to launch the new range in both IMSA and the FIA WEC at the same time. “We won’t just produce these tires for one championship,” he said.

Feedback from testing to this point has been positive. The run at Circuit of The Americas over the summer, which was attended by the majority of the LMH and LMDh manufacturers, produced impressive results.

“It was remarkable,” Alves said. “This new product increases the endurance of the tire, but not the grip and we achieved similar performance levels to the tires we are using this year, with the increase in sustainable materials.”

Development work on the new range is not yet complete though, in part because Michelin lost a lot of track time in Europe earlier this year when its major test back at Portimao was washed out.

“The conditions were so bad it wasn’t even useful as a wet tire test, because if we were racing it would have been red-flagged,” said Alves. “So we have to do another development loop to make sure the tires are ready for Daytona in January 2026 and February 2026 for Qatar.

“We are working very hard on a schedule. We have planned to do a wet development test in Paul Ricard this month, and we have invited all the teams and OEMs. We will also stay on the Tuesday after the Bahrain WEC race, with all the teams on site. That will be a slick loop.

“After that, we plan to complete another loop in Qatar in 2025, and we are working to find a date because Ramadan is on the Saturday after the race.

“Ideally, we would test on Sunday morning, but we have to see. Then we plan to do some running around the Imola WEC weekend before a final decision on the spec for 2026 is made in May, after Spa.

“In parallel, we have development loops in the USA for IMSA teams planned during the sanctioned test this November. Then we plan to test next March at Sebring March, close to the 12 Hours.”

After track testing is complete and the final specifications for its three slick compounds are signed off, Michelin will begin producing the tires towards the end of June.

The first batch will be shipped to the United States in time for the end-of-year IMSA test in Daytona.

Teams racing in the WEC will also receive their first batches for use in private testing around that time, as they prepare for the start of the 2026 season.

Ferrari not expected to roll out Hypercar updates immediately

Ferrari AF Corse looks set to start the 2025 FIA WEC season with its 2024-spec 499P, though development work in background on its double Le Mans-winning Hypercar is ongoing according to the program’s senior management. Speaking with reporters during …

Speaking with reporters during Finali Mondiali, Ferdinando Cannizzo – Ferrari’s head of endurance race cars – explained that the team completed a multi-day test with the 499P at Barcelona recently, in part to prepare for the season finale in Bahrain, but also to sample potential updates for the car.

However, any new evolutions (Evo ‘Jokers’), he explained, are not expected to debut any time soon.

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“Clearly we have continuous development ongoing, time to time we have bits that we are testing on the car and of course, we did a lot of work on the setup side in Barcelona to prepare for Bahrain and understand what we could have done better in Fuji,” he said.

“It’s a wide work we arrange when we have the opportunity to test the car on track, carry on the development and understand how we can better exploit the current car.

“We are looking at all the possible areas of the car, suspension, engine, power unit, aero, and bodywork, but every action is meant to reduce the gap that we see in our car or areas we would like to improve.

“There are very specific interventions to close or remove weaknesses.”

As for the timing of its potential updates to the car, Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar racing boss, addressed this during his press conference at Finali Mondiali. He said the update(s) (if signed off) could come as early as next season, but wouldn’t be drawn into specifics, leaving a 2026 debut on the table as a potential option.

“We have many ideas but we need time to get to know the car. We need to use our tokens wisely, test in the simulator and be careful with tweaks,” he added.

Should Ferrari roll out the update(s) it is working on for the 499P in the future, it would be the second Evo ‘Joker’ package for the car.

Earlier this season the Italian factory team debuted a redesign of the 499P’s brake cooling ducts to alter the flow distribution and ensure better cooling efficiency, as well as a “flick” under the front headlamps to help the aero balance.

Three races on from the introduction of these changes the Ferrari drivers RACER has spoken to all agree that the car doesn’t feel different behind the wheel. However, Cannizzo believes the changes are working as intended and should provide Ferrari a boost in Bahrain, as the Bahrain International Circuit is both hard on the brakes and located in a warmer climate.

“We are pretty happy with brake cooling, it is well balanced and we will enjoy Bahrain because it will be very tough in this aspect,” he said.

“Now we are trying to understand how to tune the set-up because we were forced to change a bit to balance the car around this brake duct modification.

“The aero changed a bit, so we are working out how to rearrange the car set-up. But generally, we are pretty satisfied.”

MotoGP legend Rossi set to drive BMW Hypercar at WEC rookie test

Following the conclusion of his debut FIA WEC LMGT3 campaign with WRT, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi will take part in the series’ post-season rookie test, driving a BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar for the first time. Rossi will get his first taste of …

Rossi will get his first taste of prototype racing with the German brand alongside factory drivers Dan Harper and Max Hesse.

“I am thrilled that I can test the Hypercar. We have been looking for a date for a long time, and now it has finally worked out,” Rossi said. “I really wanted to do this test to get a feel for what the BMW M Hybrid V8 can do. Many thanks to BMW M Motorsport for this opportunity.

“For me, the Hypercars are the MotoGP of prototype racing. They have a lot of power and are very impressive. I am very curious to see what potential I have in the BMW M Hybrid V8.”

The trio have prepared for their Bahrain outing in the BMW M Motorsport simulator in Munich.

“I am looking forward to seeing how our three ‘rookies’ will perform,” Andreas Roos the head of BMW Motorsport said. “We are very pleased to be able to offer the three drivers this opportunity in the cockpit of the BMW M Hybrid V8.”

Hesse — who was also involved in the M Hybrid V8’s development work during the season — and Harper have previously completed an aerodynamics test with the team.

“I have already been at the wheel for an aerodynamics test, but that was really just straight-line driving,” Harper explained. “Many thanks to BMW M Motorsport for this fantastic opportunity and the trust in me.

“Honestly, I have not had any experience with prototypes or open-wheel cars in my career so this will be a big change for me. I have already noticed in the simulator how much higher the speeds are compared to the GT3.

“I’m not putting too much pressure on myself; I’m just trying to enjoy the test day as much as possible. To do this test with Max is something very special for both of us, as we have been on this path together through the BMW Junior Team from day one.”

Hesse said: “I am also very excited to be able to take this step together with Dan after all our joint steps since 2020. During the season, I sat in the BMW M Motorsport simulator very often and contributed to the further development of the BMW M Hybrid V8, so it is of course very exciting for me to now be able to compare it to the real race car.

“I think that will bring me forward personally a lot, but it will also provide us with important insights for the upcoming simulator sessions to prepare the car for the 2025 season.

“I think it’s important that we spend the entire week in Bahrain with the team and attend all the meetings. That way, we won’t be starting from scratch on test day.”