Motorsport: Hartley closing in on championship

The Porsche team featuring Kiwi Brendon Hartley hold a narrow advantage. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi Brendon Hartley has a chance of clinching the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Heading into the penultimate round of the series this weekend in Shanghai, China, Hartley along with Porsche LMP1 co-drivers Aussie Mark Webber and German Timo Bernard, have just a one-point advantage over Audi pilots German Andre Lotterer, Frenchman Benolt Treluyer and Swiss Marcei Fassler.

Close on the tail pipes of those two cars is the second Porsche Hybrid 919 in the hands of Frenchman Marc Lieb, Swiss Neel Jani and German Romain Dumas. With two cars in the mixing pot for a world title, Porsche might just be able to grab a world championship for the first time since 1986.

It would be even more fantastic for New Zealand motorsport if Hartley won a world title in the WEC, as he would stand alongside 2015 Le Mans 24 Hour winner and fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber as having had a stellar year in sportscar racing.

It'll be a tense weekend at the Chinese Formula One track as Audi could snatch the title away if something goes wrong with either, or both, of the Hybrid 919s.

"The Shanghai track has some unique corners. If the last races are anything to go by, I'm sure it will also create some fantastic racing," said Hartley.

"We now lead the drivers' championship by one point, but we go there with the same attitude we have had in the previous races.

"Audi had an update in Fuji, so we expect another tough battle."

In the first six rounds of the eight-round championship, the Hartley, Webber and Bernhard trio had been chasing down the Audi drivers, but now the racing boot is on the other foot - albeit by one point. However, the odds are firmly stacked in the New Zealander's crew's favour as they have three races on the trot - Nurburgring, America and Fuji.

There's a different mindset needed when being chased, where drivers have to strike a fine balance between going all out for the win, or racing a bit conservatively to ensure points are collected.

Being racers, it would be a fair bet everyone on the track will be going at it hammer and tongs to get the win and hoping everything goes according to plan.

There will be 86 drivers from 19 countries spread across four classes all vying for various line honours during the six hours of highly competitive racing.

The Shanghai circuit will catch the unwary out right from the first corner, which is a decreasing radius bend that tightens up the more drivers get through it. Another to be wary of is the long right-hander heading on to the back straight. If drivers aren't on the throttle early enough here, they'll have their doors blown off by passing cars down the straight.

As always, tyres will be factor as the abrasive track is generally regarded as being pretty fierce on wear. In the past Hartley and company have been wary of this kind of track, but now with a year's further development and the new aero package, the 919 should be in its element, especially on the long straight.

After his recent GP2 outing in Sochi, Russia, Aston Martin Racing Works driver Richie Stanaway is back in the big LMGTE Pro car. The Kiwi will share driver duties with Brazilian Fernando Rees and Brit Alex MacDowall.

Stanaway has been very quick each time he's been in the GTE car and should be a force to reckon with, having recently picked up a win in GP2 last time out in Russia.