296 LMGT3s set to close the world championship season in Bahrain

The 2024 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship concludes at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, where the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 is set to make its debut. This track has hosted the world championship twelve times since 2012, initially with six-hour races before shifting to the current eight-hour format. Two Vista AF Corse cars will compete: number 54, fresh from its victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji, will be driven by Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon alongside Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, while the number 55 car will feature another official driver, Alessio Rovera, paired with François Heriau and Simon Mann. The race will kick off on Saturday, 2 November at 2 p.m. local time.

The race. Bahrain has been a regular fixture on the world championship calendar since the series was established and is hosting a race this year for the thirteenth time. From 2012 to 2017, the race ran for six hours, while between 2019 and 2023, its duration was extended to eight hours, as it is this year. In 2021, however, the calendar included two legs in Bahrain, one six hours and the other eight, compensating for the cancellation of a previous stage.

The situation. With the LMGT3 drivers’ and team titles already awarded, the season’s final round is an opportunity for all to conclude 2024 with a strong result. Both Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 cars arrive with confidence: the number 55 of Rovera, Heriau and Mann took pole position in Japan and is the best placed in the overall standings in sixth with 59 points; the number 54 of Rigon, Flohr, and Castellacci achieved a spectacular victory at Fuji, moving them up to ninth place in the standings with 48 points.

History. The Bahrain International Circuit spans 5.412 km in its current configuration and features 15 turns, nine right-handers and six left-handers. It combines long straights with challenging braking zones and slower sections. Opened in 2004, it has hosted Formula 1 since 2005, at times as the season’s opening Grand Prix.

Ferrari has secured seven class victories at this track (2012-14, 2017 and 2021-22 in LMGTE Pro; in 2021 also in the LMGTE Am). At the first edition in 2012, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander triumphed in the 458 Italia GTE. The Finnish driver, paired with Gianmaria Bruni in the same car, also took wins in the following two years.

On the back of the excellent results at the Sakhir track, the Maranello-based manufacturer celebrated the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles in Bahrain in 2021 and 2022. On the latter occasion, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina’s first victory in the LMGTE Pro category allowed Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado to celebrate their third winners’ laurels despite a gearbox problem in the last two hours of the event. In 2023, it was the final race for the GTE platform, then replaced by LMGT3.

The programme. Thursday, 31 October includes two 90-minute free practice sessions, scheduled for 12.15 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.; on Friday, 1 November, the one-hour free practice 3 (from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) precedes the qualifying session starting at 4 p.m., with Hyperpole following at 4.20 p.m. The 8 Hours of Bahrain will kick off on Saturday, 2 November at 2 p.m. local time.