WEC Bahrain: Ferrari Champions, Toyota Dominates
First Endurance Title in 52 Years for Ferrari as Toyota Wins to Steal Second From Porsche
Ferrari is World Endurance Champion for the first time since 1972 after its cars stormed home third, fourth and fifth in Saturday’s eight hours of Bahrain. Not only is Ferrari manufacturer’s champion, but its cars ended 1-2-3 in the drivers chase. And the 2025 Le Mans winning yellow number 83 took the privateer’s crown too. Manthey Porsche meanwhile redeemed a day to otherwise forget when it won a back-to-back LMGT3 crown.
Saturday was however all about Toyota Gazoo Racing, which blocked out the front row of the grid and dominated the race to jump up from fourth and steal second in the championship from Porsche and Cadillac. It was also Toyota’s first 2025 WEC victory on a day where Peugeot and Aston Martin shone to see to it that all eight Hypercar led a race through the season. Lexus meantime made it a double for Toyota with LMGT3 victory over Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin and the champion Porsche.
The number 7 Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries Gazoo Toyota GR010 Hybrid controlled the race from the front to claim the team’s first win in a year since it dramatically stole the 2024 makers title from Porsche at Bahrain. Teammates Seb Buemi, Brandon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the 8 car bounced back to see to it that Toyota did it again to leap to second in the chase as they disposed of the departing Porsche, and Cadillac.
WEC Bahrain Was All About Champions Ferrari
Bahrain was however all about Ferrari, which appeared to have the pace to take the Toyotas on, but rather concentrated on the championship. The team engineered the delayed 50 499P of Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco into third to see them complete the championship 1-2-3 by edging the 6 Porsche in the title chase. The champion 51 499P James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi moved over to let the 50 by with a lap left to race.
Behind them, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson’s Le Mans winning yellow privateer champion 83 Ferrari came home fifth to clinch second in the overall standings with Ferrari brass John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna on hand to join the sea of red celebration.
In a relatively clean race that saw only one notable incident when the Flohr Castellacci Rigon GT3LM was taken out by the overtaking Button Cadillac Hypercar, there were a few other safety car periods to clean up debris and remove stricken cars. The other Lynn Stevens Nato 12 Cadillac V-Series.R however enjoyed a solid race to finish sixth.
Bahrain was Toyota’s First WEC Win in a Year
Behi9nd them, the 009 Riberas Sorensen de Angelis Aston Martin Valkyrie led at a point but suffered a penalty to see it home seventh ahead of the Rast van der Linde BMW, which fought back to eighth. Peugeot went in the other direction when a midrace strategy call backfired to see both the Jensen di Resta Vergne, and Jakobsen Pourchaire Duval 9X8s slip to ninth and tenth after a literal war with the Chatin Habsburg Milesi and Gounon Makowiecki Schumacher Alpines which ended up 11th and 12th.
The French quartet kept departing Porsche out of the points on a Hypercar day the Stuttgart carmaker will want to forget. Estre and Vanthoor, in contention for the drivers title, and Campbell’s number 6 963 ended un unlucky thirteenth ahead of the sister Andlauer Jaminet Heinrich number 5 963 in 14th.
The delayed 007 Tincknell Gamble Gunn Aston Martin followed from retiring Button sharing the Bamber Bourdais 38 Cadillac after Jenson took a 30 second stop-go for taking that Ferrari out. The privateer Jani Pino Varrone Proton Porsche 17th was last of the Hypercar runners home.
WEC LMGT3 Title Redeemed Porsche in Bahrain
While Porsche suffered in Hypercar, its LMGT3 day went far better when Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera drove their Manthey 911 GT3 R from 18th on the grid to finish fourth in class and clinch a back-to-back title. Ahead of them, Jose Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Razvan Umbrarescu scored Lexus’ second LMGT3 win of the season to end a fine day for Toyota.
They came out on top of an epic race-long battle with Hodenius Berry Martin Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the James Robichon Drudi Aston Martin. The champion Porsche ended fourth from the surviving Vista AF Corse Ferrari Heriau Mann Rovera Ferrari and the Keating Edga Juncadella Corvette.
So, Ferrari ultimately dominated the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, scoring 245 points over a close fight for second topped by Toyota with 171 points, Porsche on 165 and Cadillac with 158 points. It was even closer for fifth as four points split BMW, Alpine and Peugeot with Astan Martin eighth. The AF Corse Ferrari took the privateer Teams Cup from Proton Porsche. And the 92 Manthey Porsche beat the 21 AF Ferrari to the LMGT3 Teams title as the 87 Akkodis Lexus leapfrogged the 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, 81 TF Sport Corvette and others to third.
Ferrari Utterly Dominated WEC 2025
Ferrari crews, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado beat Philip Hanson, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen to the driver’s title. Porsche duo Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor were third from Cadillac trio Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens, and Toyota men Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck De Vries. And Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz and Ryan Hardwick Took the LMGT3 Drivers crown from Alessio Rovera, François Hériau and Simon Mann, and Clemens Schmid, Jose Maria Lopez and Petru Umbrărescu.
While Porsche has exited the WEC, Hyundai brand Genesis joins in 2026, with Ford and McLaren following in 2027. It is not yet known whether any more Porsche privateers will join the Proton team, but with a new Gazoo Toyota coming and several changes across the board, the knives will be out to stop Ferrari from a back-to-back title, and a fourth Le Mans 24 victory on the trot. Roll on WEC 2026!
Images: FIA WEC
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