WRT transformed car after "shocking" pace in Bahrain practice
The WRT drivers have hailed the team’s impressive turnaround in performance following their victory in the first Bahrain FIA World Endurance Championship race, having had "shocking" pace in practice.
The Belgian squad endured a difficult start to the penultimate round of the 2021 season as it finished a distant sixth among the 11 LMP2 entrants in opening practice on Thursday, more than a second off the pace of the chart-setting #38 JOTA crew.
Improvements were hard to come by on Friday and Milesi could only set the seventh-quickest time in the #31 Oreca, as the #28 JOTA machine took over from the sister car as the new benchmark in LMP2.
However, WRT’s fortunes were transformed during the race, with Habsburg moving up to fourth in the first stint before Frijns took advantage of a full-course yellow period to grab the lead - a position Milesi held on to in the final stint.
This was WRT’s second victory in the WEC after Frijns narrowly held off Tom Blomqvist’s JOTA car in the final moments of the Le Mans 24 Hours, albeit only after the second WRT entry driven by Yifei Ye crawled to a halt with mechanical issues on the final lap.
Speaking after the race, Frijns credited the team for the progress it made over the course of the weekend to turn the #31 Oreca into a winning car.
“FP1 was shocking really, we had a feeling we were off the pace,” said the Dutchman. “The JOTA looked very strong and [our] car balance was not as it is supposed to be.
“We worked hard and during the sessions step-by-step the car was improving. In the race the car felt really good and it was a joy to drive today.”
Habsburg added: “It was a mega race for us. I just had a great time and we improved so much through the practice sessions that we didn’t even expect the pace we had today.
“We had to start further back in seventh. I had the start for the first time this year and I didn’t know what to expect.
“I was able to overtake car by car and bring us up into the top three and just enjoy it so much and hand it over to these guys who finished the job perfectly. It looked like they also had fun there. And it was awesome to relieve the fun feeling we had at Le Mans.”
#31 Team WRT Oreca 07 - Gibson: Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
The Bahrain result has handed the WRT trio a small but significant five-point lead over the #28 JOTA Oreca of Blomqvist, Sean Gelael and Stoffel Vandoorne, with the other #38 JOTA car of Anthony Davidson, Antonio Felix da Costa and Roberto Gonzalez and United Autosports’ Phil Hanson also in contention for the title.
But with 38 points on offer in the season-concluding Bahrain 8 Hours this week, Milesi says the team must ‘not stress’ itself as it chases the LMP2 title in its maiden season of prototype competition.
“Next week everything will be possible, only five points in front of the #28 car,” he said. “Eight hour race next week, there's quite a lot of points to deliver.
“But I think we need to not stress ourselves. If we did the same job as the last two races, it will work out for us. But if we get a consistent job [done], I think it will be okay for next week.”
The WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain will be streamed live on Motorsport.tv. Click here for more information.
Related video
The 10 greatest drives of lost legend Jo Siffert
It's 50 years since Jo Siffert was killed in his prime at Brands Hatch. The Swiss scored just two world championship wins in a Formula 1 career spent largely with privateer teams, but showed on numerous occasions in single-seaters and in sportscars with Porsche that he could beat any of the best drivers of his era given the right equipment.
Inside the Le Mans finish too barmy for Hollywood
Team WRT has been at the forefront of GT racing for years and made a successful move to prototypes for 2021, capped by an LMP2 win on its Le Mans debut. It could've been even better had the race been one lap shorter, when its cars ran 1-2, but the stranger-than-fiction reality has spurred the team to reach greater heights.
Why Toyota's Le Mans victory was not as simple as it looked
Toyota scored its fourth Le Mans 24 Hours victory and a 1-2, with the #7 car of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez beating the #8. But although it looked straightforward from the outside, Toyota faced serious problem that had to be solved with some quick-thinking and ingenuity.
What we've learned from the Le Mans 24 Hours so far
The new dawn for the FIA World Endurance Championship has arrived at Le Mans, as Hypercars prepare to duel for victory in the world's oldest endurance race. Motorsport.com picks out the 10 things we have learned in the build up to the race.
Le Mans 2021: The team-by-team guide
After a two-month delay due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours is set to get underway with the start of the Hypercar era at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Can Toyota's #7 crew break its Le Mans curse?
One Toyota, normally with the number 7 on the side, always seems to attract the bad luck in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez are hoping for a change in fortune this time around, but face significantly more unknowns than in recent years
Why Glickenhaus should be taken seriously on its Le Mans bow
Many were quick to dismiss Glickenhaus when the boutique American sportscar firm's entry into the top class of the Le Mans 24 Hours was announced. It's all-new LMH racer, powered by an engine built by a rally specialist, goes in as the underdog against Toyota but the mathematical odds suggest that it has more than just a faint hope of success.
How 1971's benchmark Le Mans team lost with the best car
The JW Automotive Engineering team won twice at the Le Mans 24 Hours with ageing Fords and was considered the heavy favourite to add more victories to its tally after partnering with Porsche. But despite being armed with the all-conquering 917, this formidable combination was never as successful in real life as on the big screen.