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Toyota announces unchanged Hypercar line-up for 2025 WEC season

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota will go into the 2025 World Endurance Championship with an unchanged driver line-up.

The Japanese car maker’s #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar will driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries for a second consecutive season, while in #8 Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa stay together for a fourth season.

Kobayashi, who also acts as team principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC squad, stressed the importance of what he described as “a consistent line-up of drivers who understand how to work together”.

“We have a top driver line-up in both cars, and I am happy to be part of it again in 2025,” he said.

“The team spirit and co-operation among all the drivers, and the team in general, grows with every race and every season.”

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

He added that Toyota has enjoyed “some good results this year”, a reference to its three race wins and victory in the Hypercar manufacturers’ championship, but that “as a team we continuously push ourselves to perform even better at every event”.

De Vries labelled his 2024 campaign with Toyota as “a good first season».

“We have had ups and downs but generally it has been a great experience,” he said.

“I am looking forward to being part of this team in 2025, it is a true pleasure and honour.”

The Dutch driver belatedly joined Toyota in place of Jose Maria Lopez at the start of this year having originally been slated to race the #7 car in 2023 prior to his short stint in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri.

Conway will be undertaking his 10th season as a full-time member of the Toyota WEC squad, while Buemi maintains an unbroken run with the team that stretches back to its return to top-flight sportscar racing on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012.

Toyota’s announcement of its driver line-up for its 2025 attack on the Hypercar class on Wednesday made no reference to Ritomo Miyata, who filled the test and reserve role this year.

The Japanese driver was overlooked for the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC blue riband in June when Conway was unable to compete as a result of injuries sustained in a cycling accident.

Toyota instead brought Lopez back to fill the seat alongside Kobayashi and de Vries.

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Calado reveals hospitalisation after «dangerous» WEC weight loss effort

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari driver James Calado has revealed that he was hospitalised with malnutrition early in this year’s World Endurance Championship campaign as a result of his efforts to lose weight.

The Briton has disclosed that he became «properly ill» after the Qatar season-opener as he strived to overcome the performance disadvantage that comes with carrying extra kilogrammes in the WEC’s Hypercar category, which does not include the driver in the minimum weight of the car.

«I was sick this year because I lost so much weight — I went to hospital after Qatar with malnutrition,» he explained. «I was on medication because I was running and not eating, trying so hard to lose weight.

«It’s too dangerous for me to go down to the weight I want.»

Calado explained that he is «70-something kilos» and that could result in a performance disadvantage of as much as half a second a lap on a regular circuit to a driver who weighs 20kg less.

«I would love to be able to qualify, but I’m too heavy,» he said. «I would love something to make it more equal like karting or in other championships.

#51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

#51 Ferrari Af Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

«It’s not easy to manage because it’s endurance racing — three drivers per car, two in others — I know that, but let’s try and do something.»

Calado’s revelation comes at a time when there is a push to mitigate the advantage that running lighter drivers brings.

BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos revealed to Motorsport.com that he has raised the issue with the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly run the WEC.

«There should be compensation for driver weight as there was in the past in LMP1 and we are pushing for that,» he said.

«We shouldn’t get to a situation where the manufacturers are looking for the lightest drivers; there should be a situation where every driver can be competitive.

«This is also a safety topic: drivers try to lose weight, but this is endurance racing so it can be dangerous.»

James Calado, Ferrari AF Corse

James Calado, Ferrari AF Corse

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

ACO technical director Thierry Bouvet admitted that the idea is being discussed, but stressed that no decision has been made.

«When people have ideas, we and the FIA look at the pros and cons and see if they need to be adopted or not,» he said.

A rule introduced in LMP1 for the 2015 WEC season increased the minimum weight of a car in which the average weight of its two or three drivers was less than 80kg.

Three drivers with an average weight of 75kg had to carry 5kg of ballast in their car, for example.

The rule didn’t remove the advantage a lighter driver had over heavier co-drivers but equalised the cars across the grid.

The cars of Formula 1 drivers who weigh less than 80kg in their racewear have to carry ballast to bring it up to the 798kg minimum.

The Hypercar technical rules for 2025 have already been approved and published but could be changed with the unanimous support of the manufacturers.



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Valentino Rossi leaning «more towards WEC» for 2025

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi is considering the World Endurance Championship over the GT World Challenge Europe as he downscales his race programme for next season.

The BMW factory driver has revealed that the German manufacturer is steering him towards the WEC rather than a full campaign across the Endurance and Sprint Cup legs of the GTWCE in 2025.

Rossi, who contested the WEC’s new LMGT3 class and seven GTWCE events with the WRT team this year, said that at the moment his decision is «more towards the WEC», but stressed that he has yet to make a final call.

That will not be made until after the final GTWCE enduro in Jeddah at the end of this month.

«I have quite a lot of pressure from BMW to remain in the WEC because for them it is more important,» the 45-year-old Italian explained over the course of last weekend’s final round of the 2024 WEC in Bahrain.

«I am a little bit uncertain and I haven’t decided yet. Some things are better here, some things are better there.»

Rossi has previously pointed to the prestige of racing in a world championship and the opportunity it presents to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours, while stressing the ultra-competitiveness of GT3-only racing in the GTWCE in which he competes in the Pro class.

He has decided to cut down on the number of races he will contest from 16 this year to 10 or 11 next for family reasons at a time when the birth of his second child is imminent.

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

To achieve that, he will have to drop out of one of the championships that have been part of his 2024 programme.

Should he choose the GTWCE, it is likely that he would do both legs of the series in which he has achieved his greatest success since his full-time swap to four wheels following his retirement from MotoGP at the end of 2020.

He took a solo Sprint Cup victory in each of the 2023 and ’24 seasons driving a BMW M4 GT3 for BMW, the former as part of a full campaign, the latter over the two short-format GTWCE events he contested alongside a full campaign in the enduros.

Rossi reaffirmed his intent to contest the Bathurst 12 Hours, the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge next February, for a third year in succession.

Had he continued to race in both WEC and GTWCE, the Australian enduro would likely have been a casualty of his efforts to reduce his number of races.

Rossi played down the chances of him racing BMW’s M Hybrid V8 LMDh after try-out in a WRT-run car at last weekend’s WEC rookie test in Bahrain.

He said that he was «happy to test the [Le Mans] Hypercar and put it in my collection».



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Second WEC crown more prestigious than maiden triumph in 2012

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer believes that winning the World Endurance Championship title this year means more than his 2012 triumph with Audi.

The German, who sealed the crown in Bahrain on Saturday with Porsche Penske Motorsport team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer, suggested that his second world crown conveys more prestige than the maiden triumph secured in the inaugural season of the reborn WEC.

“There is more recognition for such an achievement in today’s circumstances,” Lotterer told Motorsport.com.

“You have to look at how the championship has come a long way.

“A lot of manufacturers have come, and they haven’t come just to participate — everyone has come to win.

“The competition now and the Balance of Performance that levels the field means the execution, operation and strategy, doing the perfect job through the season, is what is rewarded.

“I would say it is quite meaningful.”

Race winners #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the line

Race winners #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Marcel Fässler, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Tréluyer and #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro: Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish crosses the line

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

Lotterer stressed that he wasn’t necessarily picking this year’s Hypercar title with the Porsche 963 LMDh over his 2012 success with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 as a more significant highlight of his career.

“I wouldn’t say it means more to me, it’s just different,” said Lotterer, who is leaving the PPM squad for next season after Porsche’s decision to reduce its full-season driver line-up to two drivers.

“But we were quite dominant in 2012 and there wasn’t that much competition if i am honest.”

LMP1 newcomer Toyota was Audi’s only factory rival that season after it made a late decision to undertake more than a limited number of development races, its original plan following Peugeot’s withdrawal shortly before the start of the season.

Lotterer suggested that the world title should no longer be viewed as the poor relation to victory at Le Mans.

While Porsche won the drivers’ title this year with Lotterer, Estre and Vanthoor, it could manage a best finish of fourth in the 92nd running of Le Mans. 

“Previously in LMP1, Le Mans was the thing everyone wanted; it was all about Le Mans back then, he explained.

He added that back in the early years of the WEC revival “you kind of thought you’d lost the season” with a failure to win at Le Mans.

He described winning Le Mans with co-champions Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler as the “heroic part” of a WEC campaign in 2012 that included a further two victories and four podiums.

That is a reference to the Lotterer and his team-mates coming out on top in the battle with the sister Audi driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello despite the failure of hybrid system on their R18 early in the race.

Lotterer, 42, has no intention of retiring after losing his PPM drive with the end of his contract.

He revealed before the Bahrain 8 Hours that he is in talks with Porsche about a possible new role and is also in contact with other manufacturers.

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Kubica set to return with customer Ferrari Hypercar in 2024 WEC

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Formula 1 race winner Robert Kubica is looking increasingly certain to remain with the AF Corse customer Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Kubica told Motorsport.com that he «didn’t come here for just one year» when questioned after last weekend’s 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain about whether he would race the yellow-liveried Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar again.

But he stressed that «there is a lot of work to do» for next year at a team that claimed victory at Austin in September but failed to consistently match the factory arm of the AF team over the season.

«It is not an easy decision, so we will see,» he said.

Kubica, who partnered Ferrari factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman in AF’s satellite entry in 2024, had discussions with team boss Amato Ferrari over the course of the WEC finale in Bahrain last weekend.

Ferrari explained that he was hopeful that Kubica will remain with the team next year.

«Everything is positive and we all want Robert back, but no deal is done,» he said.

Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s head of sportscar racing, also expressed hopes that Kubica will stay, saying «Our dream is to maintain Robert with us».

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Kubica remained with AF at the Bahrain International Circuit on the day after the WEC race for Phil Hanson’s first test in the Ferrari he will race in the WEC next year.

The Briton, who is swapping over from the British Jota customer Porsche team when it becomes Cadillac’s factory WEC squad, is the first driver to be announced for the #83 AF entry for next year.

Shwartzman is leaving Ferrari at the end of this year, Coletta confirmed.

He explained that the 25-year-old will depart both the line-up at AF and Ferrari’s roster of factory drivers after he «decided to make another choice».

Shwartzman, who has been a Ferrari Formula 1 reserve since 2023 after graduating from the Italian manufacturer’s academy programme, will be announced as the team-mate of the already confirmed Callum Ilott at Prema’s new IndyCar team imminently.

Ye, who became a factory Ferrari driver for this season, is expected to remain in the line-up of the #83 car.



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Lamborghini assessing LMDh future; won’t rule out axing programme

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lamborghini looks set to downscale its LMDh programme for 2025 and to compete in either the World Endurance Championship or the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The Italian manufacturer, which has partnered with the Iron Lynx team in both series, is undertaking a review of its activities with the SC63 LMDh.

All options are on the table, including axing the programme entirely, according to Lamborghini chief technical officer and acting motorsport boss Rouven Mohr.

Mohr explained that the new regulatory requirement in the WEC next year for manufacturers competing in the Hypercar class to run two cars is the reason for the reassessment for next year.

“At the moment we are investigating all the opportunities for next year,” Mohr told Motorsport.com.

“The biggest issue for us is that the second car [in WEC] was not foreseen. “It generates in our company issues to support the second car in an adequate way.”

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: Andreas Beil

“Our wish would have been to continue with one car in IMSA [for the full season rather than in just the endurance races as this year] and one car in WEC.

“Now we are in a situation where we need to find a way to manage two cars in WEC and one car in IMSA, or it could be that we have to decide which programme we run.”

He said that a decision “depends a little bit on the package we can afford”, adding “this at the end of the day, this is the question mark”.

Asked if ending the SC63 programme was the least likely option, he replied: “Yes, for sure.»

“I can say it could be every option, but our wish and clear target is to continue,” he added.

Mohr pointed out that Lamborghini, although part of the Volkswagen group, is a small company in comparison with its rivals running in Hypercar in the WEC and GTP in IMSA.

“We are different to other manufacturers because we are quite new in this field of motorsport,” said Mohr.

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

#63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat

Photo by: Andreas Beil

“Squadra Corse [Lamborghini’s in-house motorsport department that manages the LMDh project] is less than 30 people.

“Before we did GT3 and this is another step for us — you cannot grow from one week to the other.”

Mohr’s latest comments represent a slight change in rhetoric from Lamborghini.

At the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, the company’s top brass stressed the benefits of running two cars in WEC, at the same time as stopping short of continuing in IMSA.

Lamborghini’s slot for the 2025 IMSA series was listed as an enduro-only entry when IMSA took the wraps off next year’s grid last month.

Should Lamborghini opt against continuing in WEC, it would close the door on its participation next year at Le Mans.

Iron Lynx boss Andrea Piccini told Motorsport.com that the team was ready to run two cars in WEC and one in IMSA next year, but directed questions about the future of the programme to Lamborghini.

He pointed out in Bahrain ahead of last weekend’s WEC finale that Iron Lynx and Lamborghini were taking part in the official rookie test the day after the race and also in a Michelin test focussed on development of a new range of tyres for 2026 on Tuesday.

The presence of Michele Gatting and Celia Martin – who are part of Iron Lynx’s Iron Dames programme for female drivers – in a Manthey Racing Porsche 811 GT3-R at the Bahrain rookie test has fuelled speculation of a breakdown in the relationship between the Italian team and Lamborghini.

Mohr suggested that not too much should be read into this and it should not be “interpreted as a negative thing”. He insisted that Lamborghini and Iron Lynx are “still in partnership”.

It appears increasingly certain, however, that the Iron Dames programme will switch to a Manthey Porsche from one of the Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s for next year.

Mohr pointed out that time was ticking for Lamborghini and that it was taking longer than expected to come to a decision.

Entries for the WEC close on 18 November.

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Tyre allocation breach brought no performance gain in Bahrain

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari has insisted that the tyre allocation infringement that resulted in it losing second place in Saturday’s Bahrain World Endurance Championship finale offered no performance advantage.

Ferdinando Cannizzo, the Italian manufacturer’s sportscar racing technical director, said “nothing would have changed, no advantage and no disadvantage” when questioned the day after the race about the infraction that relegated the #51 factory AF Corse Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar to 14th position in the final classification. 

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Cannizzo also clarified the nature of the infringement, which he said was contrary to that outlined in the stewards’ bulletin. 

The bulletin announcing the penalty stated that Ferrari had used two more Michelin tyres than the 26 allowed for a qualifying and the race at an eight-hour WEC event. 

Cannizzo said: “All I can say is that we ran 26 tyres.”

There was further clarification in Ferrari’s post-race press release.

“According to the document, the car used 28 tyres rather than the 26 permitted for qualifying and the race — in fact, the team respected the 26-tyre limit,” it read. 

“However, because of a mistake, during the race they [the team] used the tyres fitted to the car for the grid formation instead of those scrubbed during qualifying and intended for the race.

“These two tyres were not considered as part of the contingent allocated by the team, hence the stewards’ decision.”

Cannizzo’s comments suppose that the Michelins mistakenly used on #51 were of the same compound and had already done a similar number of laps as those tyres that were part of its allocation.

Cannizzo would not reveal how the mistake happened. “It is a story I would like to keep for us,” he stated. 

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: Ferrari

All tyres used in the WEC have bar codes and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that are automatically read as a car leaves the pitlane. 

A team declares the individual tyres it is going to use before the start of the race. 

Cannizzo called for consistent interpretation and enforcement of the rules during his post-race press briefing on Sunday afternoon. 

“We should push to have the same criteria in every race and every situation — this is what I would like,” he said. 

“What doesn’t work is to apply different criteria in different situations.” 

Asked if he believed that the tyre allocation rules had been broken and not punished in the past, Cannizzo replied in the affirmative.

The #51 Ferrari shared by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, which finished 27s behind the winning Toyota at the end of the Bahrain 8 Hours, incurred a time penalty of 4m55s, which resulted in it being listed as two laps down in the final classification. 

Cannizzo stated that Ferrari’s error was not linked to delays in Hypercar tyre supplier Michelin providing the organisers – the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – with the list of tyres and their identification codes. 

This was supplied three hours before the start of the race rather than 48 hours prior to the start of the event as laid down in the regulations. 

The stewards ruled that the delay had no impact on the event, but fined Michelin €15,000 with €10,000 suspended. 

Photos from Bahrain Race

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Rossi stars in WEC’s Bahrain rookie test aboard BMW Hypercar

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Bike legend Valentino Rossi was a tenth from the fastest time by a Hypercar newcomer on his participation with BMW in the World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain. 

The seven-time MotoGP champion posted a 1m50.577s aboard the #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh late in the afternoon session of the test on Sunday, the day after the WEC championship finale in Bahrain. 

That compared with Arthur Leclerc’s 1m50.460s at the wheel of the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar also set in the final hour of the afternoon period. 

BMW factory driver Rossi, who raced a WRT-run M4 GT3 in the WEC this year, revealed that he should have gone quicker on his first experience of a Hypercar class contender. 

He had two runs on fresh sets of the medium compound Michelin tyre at the end of the day. 

The first was curtailed by a red flag and then he spun on his second before restarting and getting down to his 1m50.5s.

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Valentino Rossi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

“I was a little bit unlucky because on the second set you can improve,” said Rossi. “On the first set I had a red flag and on the second set when I pushed I had traffic with GT3s, and I spun. 

“Normally when you spin you destroy the tyres, but luckily it was good — I could restart and make the 50.5.”

Leclerc, brother of Charles and a Ferrari Formula 1 development driver, also had what he described as a pair of “performance runs” but he did use fresh rubber. 

The third fastest rookie was Alpine academy driver Victor Martins. The Formula 2 race winner was quickest of the drivers having a first run in a Hypercar class entry in the morning, setting a 1m50.934s and then improving to a 1m50.717s in the afternoon. 

His afternoon mark stood as the fastest time by a rookie when he completed his test before the quicker conditions of the late afternoon. 

Max Hesse was fourth fastest in the #15 BMW with a 1m50.819s. Thomas Neubauer was fifth in the #51 Ferrari while Dan Harper, who shared the #15 BMW with Hesse, took sixth.

The fastest set over the course of the five hours of track time on Sunday was set by Cadillac regular Earl Bamber in the solo Ganassi V-Series.R LMDh. 

He posted a 1m49.566s in the course of a short run early in the morning session.

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Buemi had lost hope before comeback drive gave Toyota WEC title

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Sebastien Buemi believed Toyota was out of contention for the World Endurance Championship manufacturers’ crown when he began the comeback that yielded the Japanese car maker the title in Bahrain. 

The Swiss “thought we were done” in his bid to take the victory Toyota needed to steal the championship from Porsche when the race went green after the second of two late safety cars with 90 minutes of the eight hours remaining. 

Buemi was down in 10th aboard the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar in which he took the win with Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa. 

“I thought we were out of it,” Buemi told Motorsport.com “But I thought, ‘f**k it’ and took a lot of risks — I was going to overtake or DNF.”

Buemi explained that the negative assessment of his chances followed his struggles when battling in the Hypercar pack earlier in the race.

He had led from the pole position claimed by Hartley, only to be punted off after 18 minutes by the #83 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Hiroshi Koizumi at the wheel. 

That dropped him to seventh and he struggled to make forward progress and was unable to pass Rene Rast in the #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh before jumping the German car at the first round of pitstops. 

“Those 20 laps behind the BMW really damaged the tyres,” said Buemi. “So I was thinking I might be able to pass two or three cars, not to overtake everyone and come through to the front.”

Buemi began his charge 15s from the front of the pack, but took the lead in the space of 25 laps when he made the move on Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche 963 LMDh. 

He explained that Toyota’s tyre strategy proved decisive in the closing stages. The #8 Toyota started the race on Michelin’s medium compound unlike the majority. 

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Buemi believed that this was better than the hard on the GR010, but only when the car was in clean air.

“The only way to make the mediums work was to be out front and take it a little bit easy,” he said. 

“But I had to cut short my second stint because I damaged the tyres trying to come back [after the incident with the Corvette]. 

“We considered putting Brendon on the hards, but we decided not to do it to have more fresh tyres for the end of the race.

“We knew the #5 Porsche had been using more tyres than us so at some point it was going to start to struggle.”

Buemi was able to pull away from Campbell, who lost out to the #51 Ferrari 499P LMH with Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel on the final lap. 

The winning margin for the Toyota over the Italian car Giovinazzi shared with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi was 27s.  

That became 29s when the Ferrari was penalised for exceeding its tyre allocation and dropped to 14th.

Toyota’s hopes of sealing a sixth consecutive WEC manufacturers’ title rested on the #8 car after the sister GR010 retired late in the sixth hour with a fuel pump issue. 

The Japanese marque went into the Bahrain 8 Hours weekend 10 points behind Porsche in the standings, which became nine after Hartley’s pole. 

Porsche took the 2024 WEC Hypercar drivers’ title with its #6 entry shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre.

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