Who Can Win, And How They Can Do It!

The season finale of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship gets underway at 2pm local time today (11am GMT) with an 8 Hour enduro to compete the 6 race season.

All bar one title is still up for grabs, the Hypercar manufacturers title claimed by Toyota already.

The drivers Championship position in Hypercar is relatively simple – if the #8 Toyota and #36 Alpine both finish, the crew that finishes ahead between the pair wins the Championship.  The Toyota, courtesy of the pole position for Brendon Hartley yesterday holds a single points advantage.

The only other Championship possibility is the #7 Toyota, but for that to happen both of the other title contenders would have to fail to finish.

LMP2 has several mathematical title contenders but all would need the Championship-leading #38 JOTA Oreca to have a bad day – 6th or better will be enough for Roberto Gonzales, Antonio Felix da Costa and Will Stevens to take the take the crown.

Beyond that there are a variety of permutations that could see the #23 United, #41 RealTeam by WRT or #31 WRT Orecas take the title – but the #9 Prema car is now unable to do so having failed to claim pole yesterday.

GTE Pro is going to be one to watch, and Qualifying did nothing whatsoever to defuse the time bomb that has been ticking for almost exactly a year.

The #51 comes to the grid with an 11 point advantage, a gap which, coincidentally, is also the points difference in an 8 hour race between first and second.  A win for the #92 Porsche though would not be good enough if the Ferrari finishes second, the #51 would take it on count back, courtesy of more second place finishes during the season.

Also in the mix though is Gianmaria Bruni in the #91 Porsche.  To keep things simple it comes down to this – If Porsche finish one-two, whichever 911 RSR takes the win will see the title go their way.

If there are REAL dramas, and neither Porsche, not the #51 Ferrari finish, then the #52 Ferrari can still win!

In the manufacturers standings it’s even more simple – Whoever wins takes the title!

Somehow though, drama seems more than likely in this last ever outing for the amazing GTE Pro class and with a World Championship up for grabs this is going to the wire!

GTE Am will see the title going to an Aston Martin. crew, just the #33 TF Sport and #98 Northwest AMR efforts can take the title with 20 points separating Ben Keating and Marco Sorensen from the #98 trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Nicki Thiim and David Pittard.

Effectively the #98 has to win and hope that the #33 has a bad day at the office!