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 10, 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 with Buemi on board 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.
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
Photo by: Andreas Beil
It made up for disappointment for 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 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 equal Peugeot’s best finish of the season in fourth 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.
After Vanthoor’s 963 LMDh 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 them to finishing outside the points.
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P pit stop action
Photo by: Ferrari
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.
More to follow
WEC Bahrain 8 Hours – Race results
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