The Toyota #8 secured the overall and Hypercar title of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this Saturday, winning dominantly in the last round – the 8 Hours of Bahrain, held in Sakhir and finishing at night. It is the second consecutive driver’s title for Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sébastien Buemi.
After starting from pole position, the #8 trio maintained the lead and controlled the race for most of the time, crossing the finish line 47.516s ahead of the other Toyota – the #7 of José María López, Kamui Kobayashi, and Mike Conway. In the first lap, Conway was involved in a collision with Earl Bamber (Cadillac), spinning out and falling behind in the fight for victory. Nevertheless, Conway managed to recover to the podium within the first two hours.
The recovery to second place was completed by Kobayashi in the following stint, overtaking James Calado (Ferrari #51) in the first corner at the beginning of the third hour. The #7 Toyota had no arguments to threaten the #8.
The lowest step of the podium had more uncertainty. The Hertz Team JOTA, with the Porsche #38, came close to securing a top three for the first time, but António Félix da Costa was penalized with a pit lane crossing when he had an off-track excursion and returned to the track unsafely in the sixth hour. As a result, he dropped behind the Ferrari 499P, with the #50 taking third place. Will Stevens, Félix da Costa’s teammate, managed to climb up to fourth. The Porsche Penske #6 completed the top five ahead of the Ferrari #51. The best Peugeot was the #94 in eighth, and the Cadillac finished in 11th.
Team WRT crowned LMP2 champions with a one-two finish
Team WRT secured the title in LMP2. The Belgian team dominated in Sakhir with a one-two finish. The #41 Oreca was the winner and clinched the title with Louis Delétraz, Robert Kubica, and Rui Andrade. The slow pit stop of the #31 Oreca from Team WRT allowed Delétraz to take the lead ahead of Robin Frijns, about half an hour before the end. The Swiss driver crossed the finish line with a 9.190s advantage.
In third place was JOTA with the #28 Oreca, trailing far behind the winners by 50.425s, followed by the #9 Prema Oreca, which was the last car to finish on the same lap as the winners. Inter Europol Competition and United Autosports with the #22 Oreca were also in the title fight. The Polish team, winner at Le Mans, finished in sixth place in Bahrain, while United Autosports finished ninth with Filipe Albuquerque partnering Frederick Lubin and Phil Hanson.
“Iron Dames” were the last winners of LMGTE Am
In the farewell of the LMGTE Am class, which will be replaced by LMGT3 in 2024, the Iron Dames added a victory to their pole position. The #85 Porsche was driven by Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey, and Sarah Bovy. The race was decided in the final moments, after the Iron Dames spent a significant part of the race in second place despite starting from pole position.
The D’station Racing Aston Martin #777 was the main opponent of the Porsche #85, with Casper Stevenson putting pressure on in the final hour. Gatting resisted and won with a 5.548s lead. In third place was another Aston Martin, the Northwest AMR #98. The Corvette #33 was already the champion before this round, but finished only in seventh place. The Iron Lynx Porsche #60 led for a significant portion of the race, but was forced to retire when it became evident that Claudio Schiavoni could not meet the minimum driving time due to health issues that affected him before the race.
Results:
Results by class:
