Stat attack: Bahrain!
In only one week’s time the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain will get underway for round 4 of FIA WEC Season 8 as the championship approaches its half-way point.
Below is a selection of event-based statistics from Bahrain in years gone by. Many thanks to Alex Harrison from @WECData for providing the key information.
1. The 2017 Bahrain race saw AF Corse’s Ferrari 488 GTE Pro photo-finish mark the closest ever gap between the winner and second in class, just 0.174 seconds. It broke the previous record (0.568) from Shanghai in 2013 by Aston Martin.
2. The 2016 and 2017 Bahrain races each saw one retirement, a rare occurrence in the WEC. In 2016, Aston Martin Racing’s #98 bowed out on lap 84. Strangely, 2017 would see Porsche GT Team’s #92 retire, also on lap 84; racing for 4:47 minutes less
3. A total 7,333 laps have been raced by LMP1 cars in Bahrain, from cars representing eight teams. The total distance covered equates to 39,686km, with 2019 entrants Toyota contributing the most at 1,966 laps, and Rebellion further back on 1,330.
4. Despite the three LMP1 manufacturers all winning in Bahrain, only three drivers won more than once – 2013’s winning Toyota trio of Davidson, Buemi and Sarrazin. Toyota’s Sarrazin won again the following year, alongside Wurz and Conway, whilst Buemi and Davidson scored their fifth win of the season there in 2017.
5. To date, 171 cars have combined for 28,844 racing laps at Bahrain International Circuit. The total distance covered equals 156,104 km, or 97,002 miles.
6. Italy’s Gianmaria Bruni became the first driver in the FIAWEC to reach 10 wins at Bahrain in 2014, in only his 21st start – giving a 48% ratio.
7. No car at Bahrain has ever hit a higher speed than the Rebellion R1, back in 2016. Switzerland’s Mathéo Tuscher hit 303.5 km/h in the AER powered prototype, eclipsing Lucas di Grassi’s Audi R18-high 295.3 km/h from the previous year.
8. The six races in Bahrain to date have seen 18 retirements from 171 starters, giving an 89.5% finish rate.
9. No GTE team has a better run of pole positions in Bahrain than Aston Martin Racing, with the British brand having scored five in a row from 2013-2017. In LMP, Signatech Alpine’s #36 starting from the front on the last three occasions holds the best streak.
10. Bahrain 2015 saw all 32 of the starters take the chequered flag 6 hours later. A combined 5,713 race laps - or 19,213 miles, were covered, in what became the first full-duration race with a 100% finish rate.
11. Bahrain is the only circuit where Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari all swept the GTE fastest laps. Porsche set it in 2013 – by Lietz & Ruberti. Aston Martin in 2015 – Sørensen & Lamy, and again in 2016 – Adam & Lamy. Before Ferrari in 2017 – Rigon & Griffin.
12. No team has clocked up more laps at the three Asian circuits (Bahrain, Fuji, Shanghai) than Toyota Gazoo Racing, currently sitting on 7,234. Rebellion Racing is third, behind Audi, on 5,001.
In GTE Pro, no team has seen more success in Bahrain than @AFCorse @FerrariRaces.
— WEC DATA (@WECDATA) November 27, 2019
The outfit has taken 56% (10) of all top class podiums at Sakhir - four of these wins including 2017's 1-2 finish. Their 3️⃣ #FIAWEC Drivers' titles (2013, 2014, 2017) were all sealed in . pic.twitter.com/HWRy2wsI3B
