- Rounds five and six to be held at Bahrain International Circuit
- Double header event to end 2021 season as team aim to defend WEC Championship
- Hanson, Albuquerque and Scherer aiming for the top step of the podium once again
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United Autosports make their way to Bahrain this week for the final two rounds of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship as the season ends with a double-header event in the Middle East, where the team will be hoping to defend their LMP2 championship title.
The Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain will take place on Saturday 30th October, with the final race, the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain, taking place a week later on Saturday 6th November.
United Autosports had a strong start to the season, scoring a dominant pole position and a race win at the opening round of the 2021 season at Spa Francorchamps in May. The team went on to finish third in Portimao, with Paul Di Resta and Wayne Boyd racing alongside Phil Hanson, before Filipe Albuquerque and Fabio Scherer returned to the team to win once again with Phil at Monza in July.
The Le Mans 24 Hours was a disappointing event for the #22 crew after winning the race in 2020. The team are aiming for a return to their winning ways at Bahrain following their win at the final round of the 2021 European Le Mans Series at Portimao last weekend.
The Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain will begin at 11:00 local time on Saturday 30th October, with the Bapco 8 Hours of Bahrain beginning at 14:00 local time on Saturday 6th November.
Phil Hanson:
“I’m looking forward to the double header at Bahrain, especially as the championship is still very much up for grabs. It’s going to be cool to race in Bahrain during the daytime as the last two times I’ve raced there it has been at night. The temperatures will be interesting. It’s going to be incredibly hot. The last time I raced in those kinds of temperatures will have been in the Asian Le Mans Series at the start of 2019. Heading to Bahrain off the back of the ELMS win at Portimao as well gives us that boost heading into the final rounds of the WEC.”
Filipe Albuquerque:
“I’m happy to be back with United and to do the double header in Bahrain. It’s going to be intense. We can still win the World Championship for the team and for Phil Hanson. It’s a track we’ve won at before and I think the win the team had in Portimao last weekend will help. I’m personally happy to be back in LMP2 and with United. It’s been a long time since Le Mans, which was my last race with them. I’m excited to be back with my United family.”
Fabio Scherer:
"I have never been to Bahrain, so I only know the track from television and from the simulator. There are a few combinations of corners which are quite special. I expect a lot of tyre wear, especially in the first race, which takes place during the day. It will be important not to overdrive the car. Also, I heard that the surface is very abrasive, which will increase tyre wear. I want to win the last two races and therefore help United Autosports win the LMP2 title again. At the moment we're in fourth place, so if we manage a similar performance to Spa or Monza, where we won, it should be possible to make up that gap.”
Zak Brown:
“Heading into the final rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship double header at Bahrain is a great place for the team to end their second year in the championship. We are still in title contention so it will be full focus on achieving two wins to bring the title home for a second year.”
Richard Dean:
“It’s been an up and down WEC season for us. The highs of winning at Spa and Monza, the substitutions we had at Portimao and then the difficult race we had a Le Mans, but coming off the back of a win at Portimao for the final ELMS race we are confident we can get our WEC championship defence back on track. We love racing at Bahrain. We got our first World Championship win here, which kick started our hugely successful year in 2020 so I’m looking forward to the next two weeks.”