Following his Petit Le Mans overall victory last weekend, Sebastien Bourdais has been confirmed for his third FIA WEC Hypercar outing of the season with Cadillac Racing.
The Frenchman will share the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R with Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn for the season finale in Bahrain next month, adding to his appearances with the GM brand in the WEC at Qatar and Le Mans earlier in the season.
“It’s good to get back in the car with Alex and Earl,” Bourdais, who spent the 2024 season competing with Cadillac Racing in the Ganassi-run V-Series.R in IMSA’s GTP class, said.
“We started off the season really well [in Qatar], and while we ultimately didn’t get the result because of circumstances (a post-race disqualification), the car was very competitive in the race and we certainly deserved a good finish.
“Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a tough season in terms of results – there has always been something getting in the way – but performance-wise, it seems like the car is in a really good window. It’s pretty light, good on power and competitive, so there is definitely something to play for and if we could send it off on a high, that would be pretty cool.”
The 45-year-old – who has four Champ Car titles on his CV – previously competed at Bahrain International Circuit in both Formula 1 and WEC’s LMP2 category.
“Bahrain is a really big challenge,” he added. “It’s an extremely abrasive racetrack. Tyre degradation is very high and using the tyre the right way to make it function without making it slide is critical. You have to do it with set-up, dampers, traction control and you name it, but we’ll try to find some recipes that work and hopefully, we’ll wind up in a good spot.”
Bourdais’ return to the grid is not the only change in the 36-car entry for the eight-hour finale.
Elsewhere in the Hypercar field, Alpine Endurance Team has mixed up its crews following Nicolas Lapierre’s appointment as sporting director, with Paul Loup Chatin back in the #35 A424 prototype after skipping Fuji, and Charles Milesi moving across to the #36.
In LMGT3, Danish talent Conrad Laursen replaces Clemens Schmid aboard Akkodis ASP Team’s #78 Lexus RC F LMGT3, and there is a double substitution in the #88 Proton Competition Mustang.
Mikkel Pedersen and Christian Ried make way for 2018 European Le Mans Series LMGTE champion Giorgio Roda – returning to WEC for the first time since the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in June – and countryman Giammarco Levorato, himself a multiple winner in ELMS competition.
Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini Huracan will also compete with a tweaked line-up, as factory driver Matteo Cairoli will take over from Franck Perera, making for an all-Italian line-up in the #60. It will be Cairoli’s first WEC start since Le Mans, where he formed part of the Lamborghini Iron Lynx Hypercar driver crew for its two-car effort.
The Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain is set to run from 31st October to 2nd November.
