Surrounded by desert sands, the Bahrain International Circuit, which measures 5,412 kilometers and includes 15 corners, has been the scene of numerous endurance competitions since its foundation.
The FIA WEC has been there since the championship was created in 2012: since then Ferrari has managed to achieve seven victories in the classes reserved for cars derived from the series.
The 499P, after the tests conducted in Bahrain in September, will be a protagonist in the race for the first time in the round that concludes the 2023 vintage.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
#51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO GTE-PRO: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado
In the roll of honor of the FIA World Endurance Championship tests, the seven successes obtained by the Prancing Horse with GTs stand out, in any case with the AF Corse team: in the LMGTE Pro class in the 2012-14, 2017 and 2021- seasons. 22, and in LMGTE Am in 2021.
The first drivers to climb to the top step of the podium were Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander who brought the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 to triumph in the first world championship edition of the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
The Finn, therefore, put his signature with the same car also in the following two years paired with Gianmaria Bruni.
In 2017, the Ferrari 488 GTE of Davide Rigon and Sam Bird won the 6 Hours race in the Persian Gulf, ahead of their teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado.
The positive tradition that unites the Maranello company and the Sakhir track was renewed in the last two seasons.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
#71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE: Davide Rigon, Sam Bird
In 2021, a year which saw Bahrain host the last two world championship races of the FIA WEC, over the 6 and 8 Hours distance, Ferrari scored a double thanks to the victory in the last race of the season both in LMGTE Pro, with Pier Guidi and Calado who thus celebrated the Drivers’ title and contributed substantially to the Constructors’ title, both in LMGTE Am, with François Perrodo, Nicklas Nielsen and Alessio Rovera.
Finally, the 2022 race has entered the annals of motor racing, finishing at the end of eight hours characterized by intense emotions.
At the checkered flag it was Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina who celebrated, achieving their first world championship success in the class reserved for professionals, a decisive result for Ferrari’s second consecutive Constructors’ title.
However, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado finished fifth, protagonists at the top of the standings until the last two hours, when a problem with the transmission of the 488 GTE forced the Italian driver to continue – showing great skill – using exclusively fifth gear.
The team’s coldness in identifying a suitable strategy to complete the race allowed the crew to grab the last useful result so that mathematics could decree Pier Guidi and Calado, for the second consecutive year and for the third time ever, world champions Pilots.
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