Toyota Gazoo Racing claim fantastic victory in WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain, powered by Bapco Energies

#8 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa triumph and help Toyota secure WEC Hypercar manufacturers’ title

BIC, Sakhir – Toyota Gazoo Racing stormed to a stunning victory this evening in a hugely exciting WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain, powered by Bapco Energies – the season-ending round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), held at a brilliantly lit Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

The #8 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa took the chequered flag after starting from pole position and following an intense battle amongst the 36-car field in the day-to-night spectacle.

The winners were able to recover from an early race incident that saw their GR010-Hybrid Hypercar spin at turn one, losing them several positions up front.

With the result, Toyota Gazoo Racing were able to secure the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship for the sixth straight WEC season. It was also the second successive race victory in Bahrain for Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa.

Toyota Gazoo Racing also triumphed for the 10th time at BIC and have swept all the races in Sakhir held in its current eight-hour format.

Porsche Penske Motorsport's #6 trio of Andre Lotterer, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor also had reason to celebrate tonight, securing their title in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship despite only finishing the race in 11th place.

Following the race, the podium ceremonies took place. Bapco Energies Group Chief Executive Mark Thomas presented the overall winners their trophy, while DHL Group Head of Global Brand Marketing Arjan Sissing awarded the LMGT3 victors. The Hypercar World Cup winners were presented their trophy by Bahrain Motor Federation Board Member and Head of Drift and Autocross Committee Abdulrahman Ghuloom.

This evening’s WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain, powered by Bapco Energies delivered another memorable occasion at BIC for fans, with multiple incidents, virtual safety cars, a full course yellow, a car catching fire on track, and race-long battles for position and all-important championship points.
Minister of Tourism Fatima bint Jaffar Al Sairafi signalled the start of the formation lap as she waved the Bahrain flag.

The drama throughout the event set the stage for a nail-biting finish, when not only the race win was on the line, but also the Hypercar manufacturers’ title which was still up for grabs with 20 minutes to go between the top two contenders Toyota and Porsche.

At the chequered flag, it was the Japanese outfit who came out on top, and Buemi brought their Hypercar home having completed 235 laps. His crew enjoyed a 27.539-second gap ahead the #51 Ferrari AF Corse of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado in their Ferrari 499P.

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #5 trio of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Frederic Makowiecki joined them on the overall podium after finishing 29.177s behind the winners in their Porsche 963 Hypercar.

Taking fourth overall was the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies crew, while Alpine Endurance Team’s #35 trio and BMW M Team WRT’s #15 car were fifth and sixth, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 were the #2 Cadillac Racing, #38 Hertz Team JOTA, #83 AF Corse, and the #36 Alpine Endurance Team Hypercars.
 
The #12 Hertz Team JOTA crew were at the back-end of the finishing Hypercar order. They had already secured the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams heading into Bahrain.
 
Meanwhile, the LMGT3 class was won by Vista AF Corse’s #55 crew of Alessio Rovera, Francois Heriau, and Simon Mann. They completed 214 laps in the eight hours as they took the front late in the race.

TF Sport’s #81 crew of Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade, and Charlie Eastwood, who led for much of the event, finished as LMGT3 runners-up, while their teammates Hiroshi Koizumi, Sebastien Baud, and Daniel Juncadella in their #82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R came third.

Fourth through sixth, respectively, were the #60 Iron Lynx crew, the Manthey EMA trio, and United Autosports’ #59 car, and completing the top 10 were the #54 Vista AF Corse, the #95 United Autosports, LMGT3 teams' and drivers' champions the #92 Manthey PureRxcing, and the #85 Iron Dames.