BREAKING: No.8 Toyota Takes Bahrain Win/Manufacturers Crown; Lotterer, Vanthoor and Estre Claim Drivers Title

HYPERCAR – Winner: No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing

·       No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley take brilliant win in action-packed BAPCO Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain

·       Race is shaken up by two Safety Car periods to ensure shoot-out races in both WEC categories

·       Buemi, who was spun out of the lead in the first hour, drove one of the races of his life to hunt down the No.5 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar and take the lead in the last hour

·       Result means that Toyota are crowned the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers Championship for fourth consecutive season

·       The No.6 Porsche Penske crew of Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre seal the Drivers title despite finishing in a lowly 11th position after two final hour penalties. But that was inconsequential as nearest title rivals No.50 Ferrari AF Corse could only finish 12th and the No.7 Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries retired at mid-distance

·       The title winning trio of Lotterer, Vanthoor and Estre took the crown after being the only entry to take two wins this season in Qatar and Fuji. Bahrain was the first time this season they have finished outside of the points

·       Lotterer celebrates his second WEC title in his final race as a Porsche factory driver

·       Following the No.51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado in second is the Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki No.5 Porsche Penske 963 in third place to complete the podium after remarkable final lap battle which sees Giovinazzi overtake Campbell almost within sight of the chequered flag!

·       Fourth in Bahrain is the No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 which equals its best result of the season

·       No.35 Alpine of Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Jules Gounon place fifth after an intense late battle with the No.15 BMW and No.38 Hertz Team Jota of Jenson Button, Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson, which finish sixth and eighth respectively.

·       The No.2 Cadillac snatches seventh in the final moments, while the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari places ninth ahead of the No.36 Alpine

LM GT3 – Winner: No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari

·       Incredible action in the last hour sees multiple position changes as five cars go head-to-head amid spectacular multi-manufacturer action

·       Alessio Rovera takes the lead with a thrilling move after an intense fight with the No.81 TF Sport Corvette and Iron Dames Lamborghini

·       Rovera manages his pace and creates a gap before defending from a late charge via Eastwood in the No.81 TF Sport Corvette of Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy

·       It results in the first win of the season for the No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGTE of Rovera, and teammates Francois Heriau and Simon Mann

·       TF Sport take its best combined result of the season as the No.82 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella, Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud claim third, fighting back from early penalty for spinning around the race winning No.8 Toyota

·       The rest of the Top 6 read as: 4th Iron Lynx Lamborghini; 5th No.91 Manthey EMA Porsche; 6th No.59 United Autosports McLaren 

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