{"id":275056,"date":"2025-11-10T08:49:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/275056\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T08:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:49:07","slug":"winners-and-losers-from-wecs-bahrain-title-decider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/275056\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners and losers from WEC’s Bahrain title-decider"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bahrain\u00a08 Hours ended with Toyota returning to winning ways, and more importantly, it sealed both the manufacturers\u2019 and drivers\u2019 titles for Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship squad. <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s far from the only story worth telling. Here are our winners and losers from 2025’s final WEC round. <\/p>\n

Winner – Ferrari (3rd + 4th + titles)\"\"<\/p>\n

This was Ferrari\u2019s title to lose rather than Porsche\u2019s or Cadillac\u2019s to win. Even if the Italian manufacturer kept a low profile in qualifying – with just one car in Hyperpole\u00a0– Ferrari’s global head of endurance Antonello Coletta remained quietly confident.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe focused on the race and we\u2019re happy with our pace,\u201d explained Coletta.<\/p>\n

He had every reason to be. Ferrari not only executed to perfection but did it in style, scoring its first podium since the Le Mans 24 Hours and locking all three cars inside the top five after a beautifully controlled race.<\/p>\n

A bold late-race strategy call paid off, and when the #51 yielded third to the #50 on the final lap, Ferrari swept the top three places in the drivers\u2019 championship, with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi taking the crown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a fantastic day that none of us will ever forget,\u201d said Giovinazzi. \u201cWith Ale and James, from the very first day of this programme, we shared a dream \u2013 to become world champions. All of this is already part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Ferrari\u2019s first manufacturers\u2019 title since 2022 in GTE, its first in the top class since 1972, and its first world crown across all categories since 2008 (its last Formula 1 constructors’ title). With a Le Mans victory also on its record, Ferrari ends 2025 with a flawless campaign.<\/p>\n

Loser – Porsche (13th + 14th)\"\"<\/p>\n

In Bahrain, the Porsche 963 was the heaviest and least powerful car in the field under the Balance of Performance<\/a>. Expectations were modest, but its complete lack of presence was still surprising. Still in contention for both titles, Porsche never threatened and even surrendered second place in the standings to Toyota.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was, for the foreseeable future, our final appearance in the World Endurance Championship<\/a>,\u201d said Jonathan Diuguid, managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. \u201cUnfortunately, the top result we had hoped for eluded us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a sad ending – 13th and 14th at the flag – and emotions ran high on Saturday night. Most of the team, however, already know where they\u2019re headed next.<\/p>\n

Winner – Toyota (1st + 2nd)\"\"<\/p>\n

For the first time in the Hypercar era – and the first time in the WEC at all since 2018\u201319 – Toyota finished a season without the world championship trophy. <\/p>\n

But it at least avoided sharing the embarrassment of being the only manufacturer not to reach the podium in 2025 with Aston Martin.<\/p>\n

Despite a drive-through penalty for the #8 for overtaking under yellow, Toyota dominated the race, leading 215 of 237 laps and securing a 1-2 finish. Victory went to the #7 GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, earning Toyota an unexpected second place in the manufacturers\u2019 standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a very tough season, and we had to wait until the last round to enjoy a result like this,\u201d said Kobayashi. \u201cWe executed a clean race with no mistakes. We never gave up all season, and winning here is a great reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now all eyes turn to 2026, and whether the next-gen GR010 Hybrid<\/a> can restore Toyota\u2019s benchmark status.<\/p>\n

Loser – BMW (8th + DNF)\"\"<\/p>\n

BMW M Team WRT\u2019s second half of the season was as disastrous as its start was promising: just one top-five and 25 points since Spa in May, compared to 63 in the opening two rounds. Since Le Mans, no manufacturer has scored fewer points.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start the season the way we did, you expect something different, but unfortunately it did not go that way,\u201d said team principal Vincent Vosse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of work ahead of us in Hypercar to improve for next year, and we need to understand why we\u2019ve been lacking so much performance since Le Mans.\u201d<\/p>\n

As in 2024, BMW ends the year fifth in the manufacturers\u2019 standings. The hope now is that the 2026 evo will finally unlock the next step.<\/p>\n

Winner – Cadillac (6th + 16th)\"\"<\/p>\n

No, Cadillac didn\u2019t pull off a miracle and claim its first-ever WEC title, but the V-Series.R was far stronger than expected in Bahrain. <\/p>\n

The #12 climbed to sixth despite a clear performance deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t leave anything on the table,\u201d said Alex Lynn. \u201cWith the BoP we had, we knew it was going to be a challenge, but we gave it absolutely everything, and we can be proud of that. <\/p>\n

“Even if today wasn\u2019t our race, we\u2019ve had a very good year overall as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was less positive for the #38, with Jenson Button ending his professional racing career<\/a> in unlucky fashion. Hit by a penalty and an ill-timed safety car, he finished a distant 13th.<\/p>\n

Still, with three poles, a 1-2 in Brazil, and consistent pace all year, Cadillac ends 2025 fourth in the championship, and the partnership with Jota already looks like a natural fit.<\/p>\n

Loser – Aston Martin (7th + 15th)\"\"<\/p>\n

After qualifying fifth and sixth, the Aston Martin Valkyries looked like genuine podium contenders, potentially for the second time after the IMSA finale at Petit Le Mans. But it wasn’t to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a bittersweet end to the season,\u201d said Tom Gamble. \u201cWe thought we were on for a strong result, but the virtual safety car came a lap too early and took us out of contention.<\/p>\n

“Still, the progress we\u2019ve made since Qatar [the season-opener] is huge – going from just finishing to being disappointed with sixth shows how far we\u2019ve come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Riberas even led 12 laps early on in the #009, jumping both Toyotas at the restart. The #007 finished seventh and the #009 15th \u2014 Aston Martin’s best combined result of the season.<\/p>\n

Loser – Peugeot (9th + 10th)\"\"<\/p>\n

Starting from the second row with both 9X8s, Peugeot looked genuinely competitive. Malthe Jakobsen even set the second-fastest lap of the race. But the result didn\u2019t follow. Ninth and 10th was a poor return.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rather disappointing race, especially after putting both cars on the second row,\u201d said Stellantis Motorsport vice president Jean-Marc Finot. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe split strategies and could have aimed for a top five, but our rivals took advantage of the safety car for a \u2018free\u2019 stop, and we lost around four positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peugeot\u2019s short podium streak ends at two, and the team finishes seventh in the standings, just three points shy of fifth.<\/p>\n

Winner – Manthey EMA \/ 1st Phorm (GT3 champion)\"\"<\/p>\n

Second LMGT3 season, second title for Porsche and Manthey Racing and another Le Mans victory to boot. The squad remains the undisputed benchmark of the category, proving it again in Bahrain by transforming the set-up of its #92 911 GT3 R from 17th on the grid into a championship-winning race run.<\/p>\n

Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera finished only fourth in class, but it was enough to secure the crown as they finished ahead of their title rivals.<\/p>\n

Race victory in the class went to the #87 Akkodis-ASP Lexus RC F GT3, scoring its second win after the S\u00e3o Paulo 6 Hours.<\/p>\n

Loser – Alpine (11th + 12th)\"\"<\/p>\n

Alpine couldn\u2019t build on its Fuji win. On a track that exposed the A424\u2019s lack of mechanical grip, it was simply out of the fight in both qualifying and the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe final results don\u2019t really show the quality of our race,\u201d said Alpine vice president for motorsport Bruno Famin. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been reliable, we\u2019ve improved, and we\u2019ve taken three podiums, including a win. But there were too many average results to aim for better in the standings.\u201d<\/p>\n

In what was likely his final race with Alpine, Mick Schumacher finished 12th, just behind the sister car, ending a season of progress but also frustration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bahrain\u00a08 Hours ended with Toyota returning to winning ways, and more importantly, it sealed both the manufacturers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-275056","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-motor","11":"tag-motor-sports","12":"tag-motosport","13":"tag-motosports","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}