This weekend’s 8 Hours of Bahrain forms the final round of the 2019/20 FIA World Endurance Championship and several titles are yet to be decided. Ahead of the final round in an unusual season, MotorsportWeek.com takes a look at the title fight in each of the four classes. In LMP2, the title itself has already been decided – but the battle for second place is still very much alive.
There can be little doubt that United Autosports has been the dominant force in LMP2 during the 2019/20 season. After a rocky start with a retirement in Silverstone, two trouble-filled races led to podiums in Fuji and Shanghai before the Anglo-American squad finally hit form in the final race of 2019 by winning in Bahrain.
Little did anyone know that that would be the start of a huge run of dominance that would endure all the way through 2020. After Bahrain, a second win came in impressive fashion at Lone Star Le Mans. Then, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the 1000 Miles of Sebring.
Once WEC finally returned with the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, United Autosports showed it had lost none of its form and stormed to a third consecutive win, before a crowning victory came in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With four wins and two podiums, the team can no longer be caught in the final race, which will have 38 points on offering. United Autosports sits at 171, with drivers Philip Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque. Paul di Resta sits on a slightly lower tally, as he missed out on the second round at Fuji due to clashing DTM duties.
So with the race for the title already decided before cars even turn a wheel in Bahrain, the focus naturally turns to second place. Because while the fight for the title has already been locked up, the fight for second best is still very much alive with no less than five teams still in contention.
JOTA currently has the best shot at second place. The British team has been one of the few squads that has been able to push United Autosports consistently throughout the season.
It finished on the podium in Bahrain, COTA and Le Mans and took a win at Shanghai. The #38 ORECA 07-Gibson of Roberto Gonzalez, Antonio Felix da Costa and Anthony Davidson currently sits second in the standings, leading the battle for best of the rest with 125 points.
This gives them a healthy cushion to Racing Team Nederland in third. The Dutch team, in their first year of running with ORECA, has put together an impressive campaign that included a maiden pole position and podium first time out at Silverstone.
Their campaign peaked at Fuji with a memorable first win. After that, their campaign dwindled a bit with no further podiums, but consistent points finishes have left them with 107 points – 18 behind JOTA.
Jackie Chan DC Racing have been a frontrunner in LMP2 for many years, but this has simply not been their season. They sit in fifth place, despite scoring podiums in four consecutive races. Since the COVID break however, their campaign has taken a serious turn for the worse.
First, a disappointing result after a challenging weekend in Spa cost them points, before a disqualification at Le Mans really did the damage. With 98 points, they can mathematically still overhaul team-mates JOTA and finish second in the standings, but they would need a win and a lot to fall their way.
The same goes for defending champions Signatech Alpine Elf. The French squad have lost some of the mojo that took them to the championship during the Super Season. They’ve looked good, but have had a lot of bad luck like a brake failure at COTA, mechanical gremlins in the opening minutes like 24 Hours of Le Mans and a big crash at Spa-Francorchamps.
Like Jackie Chan DC Racing, there is only one way to still have even a remote chance of climbing to second chance in the standings, and that is to win the race. And even if they do, their rivals would have to suffer a biblical amount of bad luck to make it possible.
Finally, there is one more team running in the LMP2 class that is too far down to have a chance of significant gains in the championship, which is Cetilar Racing. The team’s Dallara P217-Gibson has been consistent and one of only two teams to score points in every single race, but has been thoroughly outpaced by the faster ORECAs.
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