Brilliant Bahrain one-two for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

WECHyperCar

Nov 11

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing scored its first win of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with a spectacular one-two in the 8 Hours of Bahrain to end a challenging campaign on a high.

📷© FIA WEC/DPPI. 8 Hours of Bahrain podium

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries converted pole position into victory in their #7 GR010 HYBRID to extend the team’s winning streak in Bahrain to nine consecutive races.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, recovered from a mid-race penalty to complete the perfect result in second, just 19.378 seconds behind. Maximum points in Bahrain also secured the runners-up spot in the manufacturers’ World Championship.

Two GR010 Hybrid with different strategies

Mike Conway started from pole alongside Brendon Hartley, and they held position before building a small advantage over the chasing pack. The first pit stops at the end of the first hour saw the GR010 HYBRIDs adopt different strategies. Hartley took only fuel while Conway changed tyres, creating a strategic tyre offset, which saw the momentum swing between the two cars in the opening hours.

📷© FIA WEC/DPPI. Both Toyota GR010 Hybrid in front of Hypercars pack

#7 GR010 takes victory

With new tires, Conway reclaimed the lead at the 90-minute mark. de Vries took over the #7 and retained the lead. After a safety car in the fourth hour, the GR010 HYBRIDs swapped positions before briefly slipping behind the #009 Aston Martin.

As the race moved into its second half, Kamui Kobayashi took over in first. Kobayashi consistently fast pace stretched his advantage to over half a minute by the time he handed the #7 to devires for the last 80 minutes.
A safety car in the final hour gave all cars an opportunity to make their final pit stops and set up a tense finish. With 32 minutes of racing to go, de Vries controlled the restart from the front while Sébastien held off the #51 Ferrari. The pair stayed clear of trouble during the final laps to complete the one-two..

Toyota #7 — 📷© Pierpaolo Lonardo for Italian-Endurance.com at Bahrain. Nyck de Vries crossing checkered flag first winning the 8 Hours of Bahrain with Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It has been a very tough season, and we had to wait until the last round to enjoy a result like this, and an unexpected second place in the manufacturers’ World Championship. It was not an easy race but a big effort from everyone in the team made this possible. We executed a clean race with no mistakes. We never gave up all season, and winning here is a great reward. Thanks to the whole team – engineers and pit crew here, plus everyone in Cologne and Higashi-Fuji – for their hard work. Thanks also to our Toyota colleagues in Bahrain and the local fans here who have really supported us here.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It’s an amazing result. Before the race I felt like we had a good chance but to come away with a one-two is incredible and I am so happy for the team. Finishing second in the World Championship is pretty cool as well because we didn’t even think about that coming into the weekend. I am just so happy to get a nice result to finish a tough season. It’s been a perfect way to celebrate my mum’s birthday. She’s here to watch the race, and it’s been nice to share it with her.”
Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It’s obviously fantastic to finish the season with a one-two for the team. It’s a reward for everyone who has worked so hard all year, not just at the track but also back at the factories in Cologne and Higashi-Fuji. Everyone has been pushing hard all year and until now it didn’t work out as we hoped, but we bounced back today. It was a great race, we executed well, made no mistakes and everyone played their part in achieving this win. Car #8 also drove well to fight back up to second place; their strategy worked out well. All in all, I’m very pleased to end the season on top like this.”

#8 GR010 Hybrid second

Starting second and briefly taking P1 thanks to not fitting new tires during the first pit stop, Brendon Hartley lost P1 to sister #7 and an additional place to the #51 Ferrari just before handing over to Sébastien Buemi. Despite dropping down the Hypercar field, Buemi swiftly moved up to third as rivals made their pit stops. Buemi brought the #8 back into second around the next pit stops. Ryo Hyrakawa took over in second.

The #8 car’s chances were hampered by a drive-through penalty for an earlier yellow flag infringement, which dropped it to ninth. But Hyrakawa fought back strongly and overtook several cars to move back into the top six. An early fuel stop gave him a clear track, and he set a rapid pace to make up positions, including an exciting battle to pass the #94 Peugeot for third late in the sixth hour.

On older tyres, Hyrakawa was unable to hold off the #51 Ferrari. But the #8 soon had new rubber when Hartley took the wheel after the final driver change and continued the fightback. Buemai took over for the last stint. He controlled the restart after the last safety car and held off the #51 Ferrari to end second.

Toyota #8 — 📷© FIA WEC/DPPI. #8 Toyota GR010

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “Congratulations to car #7 and the whole team. To finish first and second is a fantastic result and I think everyone deserves to enjoy the moment because we have all worked so hard to get back to the front. Considering the season we had up to now, finishing second in the World Championship is a nice boost for everyone’s morale going into next season, when we hope to come back stronger and fight for the title.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “I am very happy to finish the season with a one-two. It was our goal today but at some point, it looked like it would be difficult. It had been looking positive in the first half of the race and we were off strategy, meaning we would have new tyres at the end. The fight back after our penalty was phenomenal from all three drivers, along with the flawless pit work and the strong strategy. Car #7 did a great job to win, congratulations to them.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “Congratulations to car #7 for their victory and to the whole team for this result. We did our very best on car #8 to win and we were able to come back after the penalty. The safety car helped us a bit, but we showed good performance today. I’m very happy to get second in the World Championship as well. It’s a nice surprise and it’s the result of pushing until the end in every race. Next year the target is very clear, and we are looking forward to fighting at the front like this again.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing