The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season ends this week with the 8 Hours of Bahrain (30 October-2 November).
Alpine Endurance Team will conclude the learning campaign for its A424 Hypercar with reshuffled crews: Paul-Loup Chatin, Jules Gounon and Ferdinand Habsburg in the #35; Charles Milesi, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Mick Schumacher in the #36.
The A-arrow brand enters the final round in fourth place in the Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship.
Launched in February in Qatar, the 2024 FIA WEC season returns to the Middle East for the final round in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
This eighth and final race of the calendar will also close the first campaign of the A424, the Hypercar with which Alpine Endurance Team returned to the premier category. Nearly two months after their first podium finish, Les Bleus will continue their learning process in all areas to extract their full potential in the future and will approach this meeting with reshuffled crews.
Nicolas Lapierre, appointed Alpine Endurance Team Sporting Director from 2025 onwards, will familiarise himself with his future duties at this race. For ergonomic reasons, Charles Milesi will replace him alongside Matthieu Vaxiviere and Mick Schumacher. Reserve driver Jules Gounon will make his fourth start this year, joining Paul-Loup Chatin and Ferdinand Habsburg in the sister car.
The two trios aim to do everything possible to shine on the Bahrain International Circuit. The 5,412-metre track, renowned for its tyre-demanding surface and the hazards created by the desert sand surrounding it, will evoke fond memories for Alpine Endurance Team. In 2015, Alpine secured its first world LMP2 pole position at Sakhir before doing so again the following two years. The A-arrow brand also scored a podium in 2016 and three more overall in 2021 and 2022.
Evaluating the various Michelin tyre compounds during free practice will be even more crucial than usual. It will be carried out in collaboration between engineers and drivers in parallel with the work on set-up, fuel consumption, and driving times, which are three crucial subjects due to the atypical eight-hour format of this event.
The action gets underway on Thursday before qualifying and hyperpole on Friday. The race will start on Saturday at 2 pm local time (noon CET). During the stints, the competitors will face the challenge of decreasing light and temperatures as they move further into the night. After the finish, the team will remain on-site on Sunday for the Rookie Test, where Jules Gounon and Victor Martins will share the driving duties.
To follow the 8 Hours of Bahrain, go to www.fiawec.com.
Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
"The challenges of the Bahrain 8 Hours are well known. Tyre degradation, both at the rear and on the left-hand side, will be one of the main concerns. We'll have to find the best compromises to ensure we perform well throughout our stints and, what's more, over an event that's longer than usual and marked by big variations in temperature between day and night, which should pave the way for less conventional strategic choices. We aim to validate what we've learnt from previous races and its relevance in Bahrain. We saw some great things in Austin and Fuji, but everyone in the team is aware of the work that remains before we embark on an intense off-season behind the scenes to prepare for the 2025 season. Bahrain will be an interesting step in that direction."
Timetable (CET)
Thursday 31 October
10:15-11:45: Free Practice 1
15:30-17:00: Free Practice 2
Friday 1 November
10:00-11:00: Free Practice 3
14:40-14:52: Hypercar Qualifying
15:00-15:10: Hypercar Hyperpole
Saturday 2 November
12:00-20:00: 8 Hours of Bahrain
