Porsche has returned to the top of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) podium after seven years. André Lotterer, Kévin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor claimed the championship this Saturday at the 8 Hours of Bahrain, securing the title with an 11th-place finish in a race won by Toyota.
The Toyota #8, driven by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sébastien Buemi, staged an impressive comeback. Although the trio started from pole position, they seemed out of contention for victory for much of the race after an incident in the first 20 minutes, rejoining the battle thanks to two safety car interventions in the last two and a half hours.
Toyota #8 spins and loses the race lead! 😩
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 2, 2024
Tough luck for Buemi just 20 minutes into the race.
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The resulting strategy shifts enabled the #8 Toyota to take the lead, with Buemi sealing the win in the final hour by overcoming an eight-second deficit to Matt Campbell (Porsche Penske #5). The Swiss driver overtook Campbell 39 minutes before the finish, pulling away to win by 27.539s. Campbell, facing tyre wear issues on the front, eventually lost second place to Antonio Giovinazzi (Ferrari AF Corse #51).
The Ferrari 499P, that Giovinazzi shared with Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado, led for much of the race but ultimately couldn’t secure victory in Sakhir. Campbell rounded out the podium with Frédéric Makowiecki and Michael Christensen. The Peugeot #93 and Alpine #35 completed the top five, ahead of the BMW #15.
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #11, driven by Estre, Lotterer, and Vanthoor, led the championship coming into Bahrain. Although they failed to score points, finishing 11th, they still secured the championship due to their direct rivals faring worse.
The Ferrari #50, driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen, finished 12th, taking only the win at Le Mans and the runner-up spot for the season. Fuoco was slowed by a puncture following contact with Charles Milesi (Alpine #36). Meanwhile, the Toyota #7, driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nick de Vries, was forced to retire early due to a fuel pump failure.
DRAMA for #50 Ferrari after a collision with Alpine.
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 2, 2024
This is NOT what they needed.
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Toyota #7 has retired from the race.
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 2, 2024
This will be utterly heartbreaking for the crew. 😔
#WEC #8HBahrain @TGR_WEC pic.twitter.com/lTomcib5QX
Toyota secured the manufacturers’ title, beating Porsche by just six points. Ferrari ended third 29 points behind the Japanese constructor, followed by Alpine and BMW.
AF Corse victorious in LMGT3
Alessio Rovera, François Heriau, and Simon Mann took victory in the 8 Hours of Bahrain in the LMGT3 class. The trio, driving the AF Corse Ferrari #55, prevailed in a battle against the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette #81, driven by Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade, and Tom van Rompuy. Andrade had been leading comfortably until the final safety car.
After the neutralization, the chaotic last 90 minutes allowed Rovera to secure the win, finishing 6.764s ahead. TF Sport achieved a double podium with their Corvette #82, driven by Daniel Juncadella, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Sébastien Baud, finishing third.
Manthey PureRxcing had already secured the category title with Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm, and Klaus Bachler, who finished ninth in this race aboard the Porsche #92. The Manthey EMA Porsche #91 claimed second in the championship with Morris Schuring, Richard Lietz, and Yasser Shahin, finishing fifth – just enough to hold off the Ferrari #55.
