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. We now look at GTE Pro, where three cars still have a shot at the title.
At the very top of the leaderboard sits the #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen, known as the Dane Train, hold 157 points.
Together with the 142 points scored by their second placed team-mate, Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn, Aston Martin has already locked up the manufacturer’s titles. This was thanks in no small part to their Le Mans win.
Thiim and Sorensen have largely been the duo to beat throughout the campaign. They scored three victories, while all of their rivals only scored one a piece.
Despite this, it was Porsche that got the season off to a best start at Silverstone with a one-two for their new car and taking an early lead in the standings.
The Dane Train began rolling with Thiim and Sorensen picking up a first win before a puncture denied them a second victory in Shanghai. In hindsight, had that puncture not happened, the title likely would’ve been locked up already. Instead, AF Corse scored their one and only win of the season.
Sorensen and Thiim returned to form in Bahrain in December with a charging win, which was enough to leapfrog Porsche in the standings and a third win at COTA cemented them as top candidates to take the titles away from incumbents Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen.
Estre and Christensen did strike back at Spa-Francorchamps with victory in a rain-struck six hours, but for the reigning champions it was too little too late. Their and Porsche’s fate was sealed with a dreadful outing at Le Mans, where an overall lack of pace and mechanical issues crushed any hopes of a late resurgence.
It was there, at Le Mans, that Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn manoevered themselves into the position of main challengers for Thiim and Sorensen. The 50 points that came with a memorable class win, combined with a number of podiums throughout the campaign, put them seconds in the standings and within striking distance of their team-mates.
Two of the title contenders will sadly not be racing in Bahrain, for widely varying reasons. James Calado, third in the standings alongside Alessandro Pier Guidi, is racing at Paul Ricard in the GT World Challenge finale instead. For Alex Lynn, the reasons for his absence are much more serious.
As Aston Martin revealed on Wednesday, the Le Mans winner was tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. He has logically not travelled to Bahrain, and will be replaced by Richard Westbrook.
