Ferrari’s title bid boosted by BoP for WEC’s Bahrain 8 Hours

Ferrari has received a double Balance of Performance break for this weekend’s Bahrain World Endurance Championship 2025 finale, as it attempts to claim both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles. 

The Italian manufacturer’s 499P Le Mans Hypercar will start the Bahrain 8 Hours 5kg lighter and with 3kW (4bhp) more baseline power than last time out at Fuji in September. 

Power above 250km/h (155mph) for the Ferrari under the power gain element of the BoP has been nudged down by 0.2% on Fuji levels.

Porsche, its closest rival for both titles, has had its BoP adjusted negatively under the system that’s designed to create a level playing field in the Hypercar class. 

The 963 LMDh will race at 1069kg, an increase of 4kg on Fuji that makes it the heaviest car on the grid. Power for the German car has been adjusted downwards by 9kW (12bhp) to 481kW (646bhp), which makes it the least powerful Hypercar. But the Porsche has received a positive 2.3% power gain adjustment. 

Cadillac, the other manufacturer that retains an outside chance of taking both titles, has received a 24kW hit on baseline maximum power, though with a 6% adjustment in its favour under power gain. The American manufacturer’s V-Series.R LMDh is also up 4kg on minimum weight. 

Fuji race winner Alpine has received a 9kW hit on maximum power and gets an extra 2kg in minimum weight for its A424 LMDh. 

Toyota’s GR010 HYBRID LMDh has less weight and more power than at Fuji: minimum weight is down 7kg and power up 6kW (8bhp). BMW and Peugeot have received minor changes for their respective M Hybrid V8 LMDh and 9X8 LMH contenders. 

The Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH remains at the minimum weight of 1030kg and maximum power of 520kW (697bhp), although it has received a 1.7% reduction in power gain. 

Factory AF Corse Ferrari drivers James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi lead the drivers’ standings by 13 points with 39 up for grabs across the Bahrain weekend. Second place is held by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson in the Ferrari entered by AF Corse on a customer basis. 

Porsche duo Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor are a further eight points back in the best of the Porsche Penske Motorsport entries, with Jota Cadillac trio Alex Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato retaining a mathematical chance of the title with a 34-point deficit. 

Ferrari leads the manufacturers’ standings from Porsche by 39 points, with 66 on offer in Bahrain. Practice for the Bahrain 8 Hours kicks off at 12:15 local time on 6 November.

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— The Motorsport.com Team