After qualifying eighth under the floodlights at Bahrain’s stunning Sakhir circuit, Strakka Racing is looking forward to what is set to be a highly competitive final round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season. After a short delay to the evening’s activities due to a lack of circuit lighting, Strakka’s Nick Leventis and Jonny Kane headed out on track to deliver a combined time of 1:52.260 in temperatures that still reached 24°C.

With a strong emphasis on tyre management for the race, factoring in how much the track will ‘rubber in’ after more use, the team is confident of being able to race hard in the six hour enduro that sees nine cars taking part this time in the LMP2 class. “It’s been a character building year with a few more setbacks than we could have ever predicted,” says team principal Dan Walmsley. “My biggest disappointment is the on track results don’t reflect the effort and determination shown by everyone in the team, technical partners, suppliers and also, the fans this season. We’ve not given them much to cheer about but through social media and the support they bring to the tracks, it means we won’t give up until the end of the year. As an example of the fan’s appreciation, WEC fans have even baked cakes for us at nearly every round! Thank you for pushing us to do better and work hard for more in 2016.”

Tomorrow’s race will start at 3pm local time (12pm in the UK) before the team prepares for the Rookie Test when Lewis Williamson and Tio Ellinas will take over the Gibson 015S. Spending time with the team today, Lewis was eager to make the most of his chance to drive an LMP2 car. “It’s my first time here but I’ve been on Strakka’s sim, read all the instructions and listened to the engineers to make sure I make the most of this opportunity.”