WEC Bahrain: Toyota wins thriller to secure manufacturers' crown, Porsche seals drivers'

Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer wrapped up the World Endurance Championship Hypercar drivers' title in the eight-hour Bahrain season finale, but Toyota snatched the manufacturers' crown from Porsche.

A scintillating final stint battle between Toyota's Sebastien Buemi and Penske Porsche Motorsport's Matt Campbell, in which the Swiss came out on top, determined the race and the manufacturers' title.

A physical pass from Buemi at Turn 8, which he later redressed before taking back the position, secured victory in the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH he shared with Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa.

The polesitting crew continued a winning run for Toyota at the Sakhir International Circuit dating back to 2016, but this had appeared anything but probable at junctures in a race controlled for large parts by Ferrari.

Buemi was turned around after 20 minutes by an errant Corvette while leading, and after returning to the cockpit he was 10th when racing resumed after a safety car with 90 minutes remaining.

But Buemi made serene progress, evading mishaps elsewhere, and got the crucial pass complete on Campbell before pulling away to win by 27.539s over the factory #51 Ferrari 499P LMH of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Post-race, the #51 lost second due to a penalty for using too many tyres and dropped to 14th in the final classification.

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa (Photo by: Andreas Beil)

Victory for the #8 made up for the disappointment of the sister #7 Toyota crew, which retired with fuel pump problems that ended the slender title hopes of Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries.

The car they shared with Mike Conway had briefly taken the lead in de Vries's hands during hour five, before the issue that had reared its head in the third hour with Kobayashi at the wheel sent the car tumbling down the order.

Giovinazzi ended up second before the post-race penalty after a final lap move on Campbell, who shared the #5 PPM 963 with Michael Christensen and Fred Makowiecki, after Ferrari had appeared to be in the box seat for much of the race.

Giovinazzi twice passed the #12 Jota Porsche 963 for the lead, before the privateer car's challenge for victory was ended by a puncture for Will Stevens, but its own challenge fell away after it needed more fuel at its final stop than those who had topped off under a virtual safety car triggered by a failure in Paul di Resta's Peugeot 9X8 LMH.

Mikkel Jensen upheld honour for the French manufacturer by holding off the attentions of Paul-Loup Chatin's Alpine A424 LMDh to initially equal Peugeot's best finish of the season in fourth, which became its first podium of the year, alongside Nico Muller and Jean-Eric Vergne.

A 35-point advantage heading into the race, with 38 on the table, meant the title-winning PPM drivers were in a comfortable position and could seal the title despite an eventful race to 11th - then 10th due to post-race penalties.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P pit stop action (Photo by: Ferrari)

After Vanthoor's #6 963 was elbowed off the road on the opening lap, dropping to 15th, the car had briefly run second but a drive-through penalty for a full course yellow infringement and an additional five-second penalty for overtaking outside the circuit limits consigned it to finishing down the order.

However, that mattered little due to problems for its only remaining rivals. After the #7 Toyota's demise, the factory #50 Ferrari's hopes of a remarkable turnaround were finally ended by a left-rear puncture in the seventh hour when Charles Milesi's spinning Alpine tagged Nicklas Nielsen at Turn 4.

The Le Mans-winning crew also comprising Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina finished outside the points in 11th.

The lone-remaining BMW M V8 Hybrid of Marco Wittmann, Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello took fifth after its sister car suffered a drivetrain failure, while a quiet race for the sole Cadillac V. Series-R of Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn yielded sixth.

After the puncture denied Stevens, Norman Nato and Callum Ilott, who had led for much of the second hour, the sister Jota Porsche of Phil Hanson, Jenson Button and Oliver Rasmussen finished seventh ahead of the customer Ferrari 499P in which Robert Kubica was partnered by Yi Yifei and Robert Shwartzman.

Milesi, sharing with Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher, withstood contact from Laurens Vanthoor in the closing stages to hold onto ninth.

Ferrari wins LMGT3 war against Corvette

#55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera (Photo by: Shameem Fahath)

Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and Francois Heriau delivered a thrilling LMGT3 class victory in their AF Corse-run Ferrari 296 GT3 following an enthralling battle against TF Sport's Corvette Z06 LMGT3R.s.

They finished 3.022s clear of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy to narrowly deny the British squad its first win since switching from Aston Martin to Corvette.

The #81 Corvette, joined on the rostrum by the sister car of Daniel Juncadella, Sebastien Baud and Hiroshi Koizumi, had led for much of the race after a surging first stint from van Rompuy to get amongst the United Autosport McLarens that had locked out the front row.

It remained in victory contention even after a remarkable sequence of events in the seventh hour that allowed Rovera into the lead for the first time, as the Italian capitalised on battling between Alex Riberas and Rahel Frey to vault from third into the lead in the space of a few corners.

Eastwood battled past the sister Ferrari of Davide Rigon, that had benefitted from the same exchange to briefly hold second, and then took the lead back from Rovera after a thrilling duel that involved going side-by-side around much of the lap.

But Rovera emerged ahead after the final stops and Eastwood, racing days after the passing of his father, was unable to close in before the finish.

Juncadella held off the Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan of Matteo Cairoli to finish third, while the title-winning Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm and Alex Malykhin finished ninth after a penalty for an FCY violation.

WEC Bahrain 8 Hours - Race results

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Retirement	Points
1	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	235	-		9
2	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	235	+27.539 27.539	27.539	7
3	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	M. Campbell M. Christensen F. Makowiecki	Porsche 963	235	+29.177 29.177	1.638	8
4	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	M. Jensen N. Müller J. Vergne	Peugeot 9X8 2024	235	+36.799 36.799	7.622	8
5	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg J. Gounon	Alpine A424	235	+37.404 37.404	0.605	8
6	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello M. Wittmann	BMW M Hybrid V8	235	+47.916 47.916	10.512	8
7	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	2	E. Bamber A. Lynn S. Bourdais	Cadillac V-Series.R	235	+55.841 55.841	7.925	9
8	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	38	J. Button P. Hanson O. Rasmussen	Porsche 963	235	+1'00.834 1'00.834	4.993	9
9	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica R. Shwartzman Y. Yifei	Ferrari 499P	235	+1'03.539 1'03.539	2.705	8
10	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	C. Milesi M. Schumacher M. Vaxiviere	Alpine A424	235	+1'12.064 1'12.064	8.525	8
11	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre A. Lotterer L. Vanthoor	Porsche 963	235	+1'19.711 1'19.711	7.647	8
12	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	235	+1'30.651 1'30.651	10.940	8
13	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	H. Tincknell N. Jani J. Andlauer	Porsche 963	234	+1 Lap 1'16.165	1 Lap	9
14	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	12	W. Stevens C. Ilott N. Nato	Porsche 963	234	+1 Lap 1'21.494	5.329	9
15	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	55	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	214	21 laps		8
16	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Van Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	214	+21 Laps 6.764	6.764	9
17	TF Sport LMGT3	82	H. Koizumi S. Baud D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	214	+21 Laps 8.621	1.857	9
18	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	C. Schiavoni M. Cressoni M. Cairoli	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	214	+21 Laps 9.889	1.268	8
19	Manthey EMA LMGT3	91	Y. Shahin M. Schuring R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	214	+21 Laps 34.396	24.507	9
20	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham N. Costa G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	214	+21 Laps 46.180	11.784	8
21	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	214	+21 Laps 1'01.623	15.443	9
22	United Autosports LMGT3	95	J. Caygill N. Pino M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	214	+21 Laps 1'10.150	8.527	9
23	Manthey PureRxcing LMGT3	92	A. Malykhin J. Sturm K. Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	214	+21 Laps 1'12.509	2.359	10
24	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	S. Bovy R. Frey M. Gatting	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	214	+21 Laps 1'22.975	10.466	9
25	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James D. Mancinelli A. Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	214	22 laps		8
26	D'Station Racing LMGT3	777	C. Mateu E. Bastard M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	214	+21 Laps 2'04.594	2'04.594	8
27	TEAM WRT LMGT3	31	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	214	21 laps		9
28	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi M. Martin	BMW M4 GT3	213	22 laps		9
29	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	63	M. Bortolotti E. Mortara D. Kvyat	Lamborghini SC63	200	35 laps		9	Retirement
30	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	P. di Resta L. Duval S. Vandoorne	Peugeot 9X8 2024	179	56 laps		6	Retirement
31	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	R. Hardwick Z. Robichon B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	178	57 laps		7	Retirement
32	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	T. Kimura E. Masson J. Lopez	Lexus RC F GT3	176	59 laps		11	Retirement
33	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	175	60 laps		7	Retirement
34	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	G. Roda G. Levorato D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	148	87 laps		5	Retirement
35	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	S. Van Der Linde R. Frijns R. Rast	BMW M Hybrid V8	111	124 laps		4	Retirement
36	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin C. Laursen K. van der Linde	Lexus RC F GT3	36	199 laps		1	Retirement
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