One start, two departures…

There will one start and two departures this afternoon at the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain. Indeed, this will the Porsche 919 Hybrid's last race as Porsche is leaving the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). The German manufacturer has decorated its two cars with the names of every member of Porsche Team LMP. The 919 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times (2015, 2016 and 2017)! It was also be the final appearance of the Aston Martin Vantage GTE, at least in the LMGTE Pro class. This car won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMGTE Pro with Daniel Serra, Jonny Adam and Darren Turner at the wheel.

New arrival!

Aston Martin Racing will soon unveil the replacement for the Aston Martin Vantage GTE. This new car has already run laps, particularly at the Sebring circuit in the U.S. Check out this article about yesterday's unveiling of the new BR1 set to be entered by SMP Racing and by DragonSpeed.  

Brendon Hartley in Formula 1

It's not exactly breaking news, but Brendon Hartley has been confirmed as a Formula 1 driver with Toro Rosso for the 2018 season in its entirety. The 2017 WEC world champion, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and official Porsche driver will head to Abu Dhabi in just a few days for the final F1 round and will bring to a close (temporarily we hope) his Endurance racing career.

The big 5-0!

In a few hours, the start of the 50th race in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) since its inception in 2012 will be given. 

100th unit!

French constructor Onroak Automotive, based in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Technoparc, has delivered its 100th Ligier JS P3 to Sarrazin Motorsport. The triple 24 Hours of Le Mans pole sitter and official Toyota Gazoo Racing driver intends to participate in the 2018 European Le Mans Series in the LMP3 class, of course, but also in LMP2. 

Will Owen confirmed with United Autosports

Will Owen will once again be competing in the European Le Mans Series next year, still with the American team. He finished second of the 2017 season along with Filipe Albuquerque and Hugo de Sadeleer at the wheel of the #32 Ligier JS P217-Gibson. The American driver will also participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona with United Autosports.

Timothé Buret in the Trophée Andros

Timothé Buret has competed in his second European Le Mans Series season with Panis-Barthez Compétition (#23 Ligier JS P217-Gibson). During the off-season, he will participate in the ENEDIS Trophée Andros Electrique at the wheel of a car sporting the colors of Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque (Mécénat Chirurgie Cardique and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest have been partners for eight years). He has also decided to launch his "1COEUR-1TIM" project to collect funds necessary to save children. What a wonderful initiative! 

PHOTO: The Aston Martin Vantage and the Porsche 919 Hybrid take their leave this Saturday. The two cars pictured here won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans in their respective classes.