Porsche, G-Drive & Rebellion take LMP titles

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The 6 Hours of Bahrain was the WEC title showdown everyone had hoped for. At the head of the field, early problems for the #17 crew put their title fight in jeopardy, while KCMG and G-Drive fought tooth and nail for honours in LMP2. In LMP1-L, victory for the #13 machine gave the less-experienced Rebellion Racing crew second place in the championship.

FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship

# Manufacturer Nationality Points
1 Porsche DEU 308
2 Audi DEU 238
3 Toyota JPN 137
4 Nissan JPN 0

The manufacturers title was a done deal before the WEC paddock arrived in the Gulf state of Bahrain. Porsche secured a comprehensive victory, winning every single race of the championship from Le Mans onwards. The points haul of 308 was also a record since the return of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012.

 

FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship

# Driver Nationality Points
1 T. Bernhard DEU 166
1 B. Hartley NZL 166
1 M. Webber AUS 166
2 M. Fässler CHE 161
2 A. Lotterer DEU 161
2 B. Tréluyer FRA 161
3 R. Dumas FRA 138,5
3 N. Jani CHE 138,5
3 M. Lieb DEU 138,5
4 L. di Grassi BRA 99
4 L. Duval FRA 99
4 O. Jarvis GBR 99
5 S. Buemi CHE 79
5 A. Davidson GBR 79
5 M. Conway GBR 79
5 S. Sarrazin FRA 79
5 A. Wurz AUT 79
6 K. Nakajima JPN 75
7 N. Tandy GBR 70,5
8 E. Bamber NZL 58
8 N. Hülkenberg DEU 58

The world drivers’ title was the scene of the greatest drama at Bahrain. Early mechanical issues put the championship-leading #17 machine in the garage for over 8 minutes, with Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley playing a frantic game of catch-up to secure the fifth place that would have guaranteed them the drivers’ title. In the end, the sister #18 car helped the Porsche trio out by taking the race win ahead of Audi and – in doing so – handing the world drivers’ title to Bernhard, Webber and Hartley.

 

FIA Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams

# Team Nationality Points
1 Rebellion Racing #12 CHE 134
2 Rebellion Racing #13 CHE 108
3 ByKolles DEU 104

Despite only having three competitors, the LMP1 privateer class also provided some real action over the season. A late charge by the much-improved ByKolles squad almost saw them snatch second place in the championship, but a victory at the final round for the #13 Rebellion Racing crew made it a one-two for the Swiss-entered team.

 

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Private Team Drivers

# Driver Nationality Points
1 M. Beche CHE 134
1 N. Prost FRA 134
2 D. Kraihamer AUT 108
2 A. Imperatori CHE 108
3 P. Kaffer DEU 104
3 S. Trummer CHE 104
4 D. Abt DEU 83
5 N. Heidfeld DEU 69

It was a similar story in the LMP1 privateer drivers’ title, what with most of the drivers being full-season entries. For Mathias Beche and Nicolas Prost, it’s a second drivers’ title in as many years.

 

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FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers

# Driver Nationality Points
1 S. Bird GBR 178
1 J. Canal FRA 178
1 R. Rusinov RUS 178
2 R. Bradley GBR 155
2 M. Howson GBR 155
3 G. Yacaman COL 134
3 L. Derani BRA 134
3 R. Gonzalez MEX 134
4 N. Lapierre FRA 102
5 P-L. Chatin FRA 86
5 N. Panciatici FRA 86

Sam Bird, Julien Canal and Roman Rusinov in the #26 G-Drive Ligier took a well-deserved victory in the LMP2 drivers’ championship by 23 points from the #47 KCMG pair of Richard Bradley and Matt Howson. Lifting the title was an act of catharsis for the #26 G-Drive crew, after a brake failure at last season’s final round in Brazil arguably cost Rusinov and Canal the 2014 LMP2 drivers’ title. The collision between the KCMG and #28 G-Drive cars in the final minutes of the 6 Hours of Fuji proved to be a decisive moment in the title battle, with KCMG unable to claw back the points they lost for not finishing in Japan.

 

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams

# Team Nationality Points
1 G-Drive Racing #26 RUS 178
2 KCMG HKG 155
3 G-Drive Racing #28 RUS 134
4 Signatech Alpine FRA 86
5 Team SARD Morand CHE 70
6 Strakka Racing GBR 63
7 Extreme Speed Motorsports #31 USA 62
7 Extreme Speed Motorsports #30 USA 62
8 OAK Racing FRA 34

The teams’ championship was a similar story to the drivers’ championship. For the second season in succession, the LMP2 teams’ title goes to Russia.

 

Image sources: WEC-Magazin (Walter Schruff) / FIA WEC press material (© Nick Dungan – AdrenalMedia.com)