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.
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.
“I am very happy to finish the season with a one-two,” commented Kiwi driver Brendon Hartley. “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.”
Mike started from pole alongside Brendon, 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. Brendon took only fuel while Mike changed tyres, creating a strategic tyre offset, which saw the momentum swing between the two cars in the opening hours.
Mike reclaimed the lead at the 90-minute mark while Brendon lost a further place to the #51 Ferrari just before handing over to Sébastien. Despite dropping down the Hypercar field, Sébastien swiftly moved up to third as rivals made their pit stops. Nyck took over the #7 and retained the lead, while Sébastien brought the #8 back into second around the next pit stops. After a safety car in the fourth hour, the GR010 HYBRIDs swapped positions before briefly slipping behind the #009 Aston Martin, which soon took a penalty.
As the race moved into its second half, Kamui and Ryo took over their respective cars, effectively in first and 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 Ryo 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, Ryo was unable to hold off the #51 Ferrari. But the #8 soon had new rubber when Brendon took the wheel after the final driver change and continued the fightback. Out front, Kamui’s consistently fast pace stretched his advantage to over half a minute by the time he handed the #7 to Nyck 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, Nyck 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.
Victory brings a challenging season to a positive close. The team now turns its full focus to 2026, aiming to build on this momentum. Next season sees the introduction of an updated car which will be raced by an unchanged driver line-up. Mike, Kamui and Nyck will race together for the third consecutive season, while Sébastien, Brendon and Ryo compete alongside each other for a fifth year.
8 Hours of Bahrain – Race
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 237 laps
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +19.378secs
3rd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +26.342secs
4th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Nielsen/Molina) +26.504secs
5th #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +39.729secs
6th #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +40.527secs
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