Toyota scored its first victory of the 2025 World Endurance Championship within the Bahrain 8 Hours finale, whereas Ferrari clinched each drivers’ and producers’ titles within the Hypercar class.
Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries managed nearly all of the race within the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, securing a long-awaited victory for the Japanese producer and ending its winless streak relationship again to final season’s Bahrain spherical.
Nonetheless, the day and the season belonged to Ferrari, with the #51 499P trio of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi sealing the drivers’ title with a charging drive to fourth place.
Calado, Pier Guidi and Giovinazzi arrived into the ultimate weekend with a 13-point buffer to the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson and an extra eight factors away from the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre.
With the #83 Ferrari managing solely fifth and the #6 Porsche failing to even rating factors, the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours winners comfortably wrapped up their maiden drivers’ title in Hypercar.
Their outcome additionally helped Ferrari clinch its first prototype title at this degree since 1972, aided by the Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco bagging a wholesome bag of factors in third within the sister #50 entry.
Ferrari did briefly problem Toyota for victory in Bahrain, with Giovinazzi closing inside three tenths of Conway in the midst of the second hour. However this might be as shut as Ferrari would come to snatching the highest spot, with the #7 GR010 pulling away because of its superior tempo and tyre administration.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries
Picture by: AG Picture – Daniele Paglino
The one time Toyota misplaced the lead was at across the midway level of the race, when Aston Martin’s determination to place new tyres on the #009 Valkyrie LMH earlier than the race automobile restart allowed Alex Riberas to cost to the entrance.
However shortly after the tip of the fourth hour, Aston was handed a drive-through penalty for an FCY infringement, permitting the Japanese producer to retake the highest spot.
At this stage, the #8 Toyota was operating forward of the #7 automobile, with Hartley having handed De Vries on the restart within the earlier hour. However the #8 Toyota was hit with a drive-through for overtaking underneath FCY, giving the #7 crew a transparent run to the entrance.
A final-hour security automobile, brought on by the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 stopping on monitor, launched some late jeopardy, however the #7 Toyota held on to take a snug 20s win.
Though the race winner was successfully determined by the fifth hour, the combat for second place raged on, with crews operating various methods late into the race.
In the end, Buemi introduced the #8 Toyota dwelling in second to finish a 1-2 for the Japanese model, with the #50 Ferrari securing the ultimate podium spot after the Italian model instructed the 2 manufacturing unit crews to swap positions on the ultimate lap.
This allowed the #50 crew to leap to 3rd place within the championship and full a 1-2-3 for the Italian model within the drivers’ standings.
The #51 Ferrari sealed the drivers’ title with fourth place, with Kubica taking fifth in AF Corse’s satellite tv for pc automobile.
The highest LMDh automobile was the #12 Cadillac V-Collection.R, with Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato driving a strong race to complete sixth.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Picture by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Community
Aston Martin couldn’t absolutely get better from its mid-race penalty, with Riberas, Marco Sorensen and Roman de Angelis finally ending up seventh within the #009 Valkyrie.
BMW recovered from a poor first half of the race to take eighth, with Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde hauling the #20 M Hybrid V8 again into the factors.
Peugeot, nevertheless, went within the different course, as a method determination to pit once more on the finish of the fourth hour – shortly after the primary security automobile restart – price the French producer a shot on the podium.
Mikkel Jensen, Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne completed ninth in the perfect of the Peugeot 9X8, simply forward of the sister #94 automobile of Malthe Jakobsen, debutant Theo Pourchaire and Loic Duval.
The #93 9X8 ran eleventh within the last phases, however Jensen – competing in his last race with Peugeot – barged previous each the #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi and Jakobsen to assert ninth.
Porsche’s farewell Hypercar race resulted in disappointment, as its two manufacturing unit Penske vehicles dropped down the order after switching to medium tyres in the course of the cooler circumstances within the second half of the race.
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell
Picture by: Andreas Beil
Estre and Vanthoor, who have been in competition for the drivers’ title, finally completed the race exterior the factors in thirteenth within the #6 963 they shared with Matt Campbell.
The #5 Porsche pushed by Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet and newcomer Laurin Heinrich ended up simply behind the sister 963 in 14th.
Jenson Button completed his last skilled race two laps down in sixteenth place after inflicting a collision with the #54 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Thomas Flohr within the fourth hour. The 2009 F1 champion was hit with a 30-second cease/go penalty for the incident, which noticed Flohr ending up within the boundaries and the security automobile being deployed for the primary time within the race.
The #38 Cadillac Button shared with Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais had already been operating close to the again of the tempo and was delayed additional when Bamber ran off monitor and spun at Flip 1 within the penultimate hour.
Porsche clinches back-to-back LMGT3 titles, Lexus wins finale
ASP scored its second LMGT3 victory of the 2025 season in Bahrain, with Jose Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Razvan Umbrarescu taking the highest spot within the #87 Lexus RC F GT3.
The #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Lin Hodenius, Martin Berry, and Maxime Martin traded locations with the Lexus in the course of the opening half of the race, however Schmid pulled clear after overtaking Hodenius within the fifth hour.
#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz
Picture by: Andreas Beil
The LMGT3 title went to the #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera after the trio pulled off an unimaginable restoration drive from 18th on the grid to complete fourth in school.
Heading into the weekend, the Porsche trio held a 11-point lead over the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and Francois Heriau. The Ferrari may solely salvage fifth after Mann picked up a 10-second penalty for inflicting with the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06.GT3 of Jonny Edgar, permitting the Porsche crew to seal the title at the same time as they dropped from second to fourth on the last restart.
This was the second consecutive LMGT3 title for each Manthey and Porsche, after Joel Sturm, Alex Malykhin and Klaus Bachler gained the inaugural title in 2024 with the 911 GT3 R.
The #27 Coronary heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 made the largest positive aspects after the security automobile, as Mattia Drudi propelled the automobile he shared with Ian James and Zacharie Robichon as excessive as second.
Drudi even briefly challenged the Lexus for the lead however fell into the clutches of the #61 Mercedes, with Martin repassing the Italian late on to seize second.
This was the primary podium of the season for Mercedes, which hadn’t completed greater than eighth previous to Bahrain.
WEC Bahrain 8 Hours outcomes
1
7
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid
237
8
2
8
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid
237
19.378
9
3
FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR
50
Ferrari 499P
237
6.964
8
4
FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR
51
Ferrari 499P
237
0.162
8
5
83
Ferrari 499P
237
13.225
8
6
Cadillac Hertz Group JOTA HYPERCAR
12
Cadillac V-Collection.R
237
0.798
8
7
Aston Martin THOR Group HYPERCAR
009
Aston Martin Valkyrie
237
23.174
9
8
BMW M Group WRT HYPERCAR
20
BMW M Hybrid V8
236
8
9
PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR
93
Peugeot 9X8
236
1.870
8
10
PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR
94
Peugeot 9X8
236
2.286
8
11
Alpine Endurance Group HYPERCAR
35
Alpine A424
236
1.753
8
12
Alpine Endurance Group HYPERCAR
36
Alpine A424
236
0.859
8
13
PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR
6
Porsche 963
236
1.971
8
14
PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR
5
Porsche 963
236
2.742
8
15
Aston Martin THOR Group HYPERCAR
007
Aston Martin Valkyrie
236
6.094
7
16
Cadillac Hertz Group JOTA HYPERCAR
38
Cadillac V-Collection.R
235
9
17
99
N. Varrone
Porsche 963
235
14.344
7
18
AKKODIS ASP Group LMGT3
87
R. Umbrarescu
Lexus RC F GT3
216
8
19
IRON LYNX LMGT3
61
Mercedes AMG GT3
216
0.786
8
20
Coronary heart of Racing Group LMGT3
27
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3
216
1.051
8
21
Manthey 1st Phorm LMGT3
92
Porsche 911 GT3 R
216
12.368
8
22
Vista AF Corse LMGT3
21
Ferrari 296 GT3
216
2.106
8
23
33
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
216
6.286
8
24
The Bend Group WRT LMGT3
31
BMW M4 GT3
216
5.480
8
25
77
Ford Mustang GT3
216
5.704
8
26
95
McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
216
0.237
9
27
88
Ford Mustang GT3
215
9
28
81
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
215
5.056
8
29
IRON DAMES LMGT3
85
Porsche 911 GT3 R
215
5.229
9
30
IRON LYNX LMGT3
60
A. Gilbert
L. Nicolas Hanafin
Mercedes AMG GT3
215
11.123
9
31
Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3
10
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3
215
3.986
9
32
TEAM WRT LMGT3
46
BMW M4 GT3
215
22.402
9
33
59
J. Cottingham
McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
193
12
34
BMW M Group WRT HYPERCAR
15
BMW M Hybrid V8
211
8
35
Vista AF Corse LMGT3
54
Ferrari 296 GT3
90
3
36
AKKODIS ASP Group LMGT3
78
A. Robin
Lexus RC F GT3
50
2
Images from Bahrain – Race
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
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Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
Bahrain – Saturday, in images
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