2024 WEC Bahrain | 6 talking points

Porsche is drivers’ champions

In fact, all of the cars in contention for the WEC drivers’ crown became completely irrelevant to the race. The #6 Porsche spent half the race taking care not to get wiped out at the back, and then half the race just bouncing off cars left, right and centre. The #7 Toyota suffered from some kind of engine gremlin all race before retiring just around three-quarter distance, and the #51 Ferrari suffered a collision that sent it into the pits with a puncture and way out of the running.

In the end, the 36-point gap with which Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre had arrived in Bahrain, was more than enough to secure them the world championship. It’s a first for Vanthoor and Estre, both of whom have come up through Porsche’s GT programmes, and showcase just how strong the company’s junior ladder is. But for Lotterer, at 42, it is his second – his first in his now rather long association with Porsche – and a fitting coda to his career with the brand. 

Between them they have been the stars of the season. From the word go they were championship contenders. At each following round the trio were somewhere in the mix, and at Fuji they cemented their championship credentials. While Vanthoor and Estre return to Porsche running next year, Lotterer departs as a world champion. Whether this ends his career is yet to be seen, but it would be a very fitting end.

But Toyota takes the manufacturers title

“If we finish in front we win?”

That was the question Sebastien Buemi asked his engineer with about 90 minutes left of the 8 Hours of Bahrain. It showed just how much winning the manufacturers’ crown matters to the drivers in the WEC. 

Buemi had been the one in the car when it was nurfed from the lead in the early hours. An errant Corvette misjudging a braking zone into turn one led to Buemi facing the oncoming field. But through the rest of the race he, along with team-mates Ryo Hirakawa and Brendan Hartley, gradually made their way into contention.

And then, the manufacturers’ crown came down to a straight battle for the lead on track. With nine points the difference (after Toyota claimed a point for pole position), whoever finished first would win the title. Buemi’s question was apt. With fresher tyres, the leading #5 Porsche had no chance. Buemi was through, and eventually so clear he was told he had no need to push. 

After facing real opposition for the first time in years, the celebrations on the Toyota pit wall were strong. The Japanese brand is still the king of the WEC, even if Porsche, Ferrari and others are closing in.

What a season

Last year was a bit of a holding pattern for the World Endurance Championship. Yes, the new manufacturers all arrived, but with brand new cars. Other than a victory at Le Mans for Ferrari, no one won a race other than Toyota.

But this year the WEC caught fire. Three manufacturers won races. Seven finished on the podium at some point. Finally the balance between LMH and LMDh chassis seemed to be so sorted that there’s no point really mentioning the difference any more. 

It also benefited from some good sporting rules. Tyre limits meant each car at some point had to run old tyres, causing a yo-yo effect that brought the best drivers to the top. The cars were close every race, and seeing more Hypercars race than an entire F1 field at Le Mans was spectacular. 

Time for the other manufacturers to step up

But now, after a year of competition, it’s time for more than just Ferrari and Porsche to enter the mix. Alpine, BMW, Peugeot and Cadillac have all been in podium contention through the year. Alpine’s progress since the disaster at Le Mans has been excellent but they need to compete for a win if they are going to justify their programmes.

Whether Lamborghini returns is looking iffy still, and Isotta Fraschini appears to be out. But the WEC is so strong it doesn’t need more OEMs, it just needs the existing ones to be in with a chance. Time to justify that spend, and all those talented drivers.

Positive end for Peugeot

And with that in mind, Peugeot bookended its season with promising races. In the end a third-place finish, handed after the demotion of the #51 Ferrari from third on the road to 14^th, put the French brand ahead of Cadillac in the standings. But in year three, most would have expected more.

The current 9X8, it has to be acknowledged, is a brand-new car even if it looks like the old unwinged one. But few teams have as much experience on the grid now as Peugeot. So, a solid podium finish needs to be the start something for the new year. 

GT3 justifies itself

Many of us, I will admit me included, mourned the end of the glorious GTE regulations. The old cars were big hairy brutes, the professional drivers loved how hard they were to drive and they looked spectacular. 

But with that came, inevitably, cost. And in the end, it wasn’t sustainable. The global ubiquity of GT3 regulations could not be ignored and the switch was made. In came cars with ABS and traction control.

It started slowly, the racing in GT3 hasn’t perhaps been as frenetic yet as you find in the more established GT series. But as the season went on, and teams got a hand on the ACO spec GT3 cars, we got better and better action. In Bahrain, the racing was as close as it has been in GTE, with Corvettes, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and Aston Martins all in the hunt. At one point the front seven swapped places completely in just half a lap. 

There will be inevitable changes to the lineups for 2025, as gentlemen drivers drop out and some have their rankings changed. But we can all be hopeful that the ACO has a handle on its BoP and the teams are ready to compete. 

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.