Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa winners and Champions at Bahrain
📷 © Courtesy of FIA WEC.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing achieved the double at the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain. Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa clinch their second consecutive driver's title. Buemi and Hartley also set a new record of four drivers’ title apiece, while Hirakawa has now won titles in both his seasons of Hypercar competition so far.
Sixth win for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, including four one-two
Sébastien Buemi with Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 led from pole position but the #7 crew’s title chances were derailed at turn 1 when Mike Conway was knocked out of second place by the #2 Cadillac, dropping him to the back of the field.
Conway immediately began a stirring fight back to get back into the top five within opening first 35 minutes. Approaching the one-hour mark, Conway made two more stunning overtakes to return to the top three, passing the #50 Ferrari and the #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche into third a few moments later.
Meanwhile, Sébastien’s consistent speed at the front saw him build an advantage over Ferrari #51 in P2. Just before the start of hour three, Kamui Kobayashi took over the wheel of the #7. Kobayashi quickly set a new fastest lap and made the move on the #51 Ferrari for second.
📷 © Courtesy of FIA WEC.
From then on both Toyota GR010 Hybrid pranced in the lead of the race without ever being worried by by Ferrari or Porsche battling for third.
The chequered flag waved for Brendon Hartley after 249 laps and he finished 47.516secs ahead of Kamui Kobayashi in the #7. That brought the 2023 season to an end after seven events, 64 hours of racing and six wins for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, including four one-twos, to take the team’s tally to 45 victories since its WEC debut in 2012.
Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It feels amazing to win the World Championship again, I am really thankful to the team. Everything went well and in the end we managed to win the race and the championship, so it was a fantastic evening. I think we deserved it this year. Obviously, not winning Le Mans was difficult but we showed our strength and won the championship ahead of such tough competition. It is always special to win but this title was won with consistency. Even though we were not always the fastest car, we scored points everywhere, even in the difficult races. We finished on a high and this is the best way to win a championship.”
Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It has been an amazing year. I am really proud to be part of the #8 crew and this TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team. Thanks to everyone for a fantastic season. We have had some fierce battles with car #7 and the other Hypercar competitors all year and today was no different. There were times when we were not the fastest car on the track so we were really pushing. Seb had the most stressful part of the race today, getting through the first corner cleanly but he and Ryo did a great job. Becoming a four-time World Champion is probably going to take a while to sink in, but it sounds really nice.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It is great to win the championship with a victory. We worked so hard to achieve this, so I am really happy. It has been a tough year at times, but we always kept pushing and we won the title again. We have always faced strong competitors and difficult conditions; this race was maybe even tougher than usual. We tried to build a gap and maintain it, but it was not easy with the tyre degradation. This is my second championship in a row, and I could not have imagined this two years ago. I want to say thank you to Toyota for this opportunity and to everyone in the team for their hard work. I want to dedicate this result to them as appreciation for giving me this chance.”
📷 © Courtesy of FIA WEC.
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It was an amazing performance to end the season; we achieved everything we could with a one-two in the last race. Obviously, there was not a big chance for car #7 to win the title but congratulations to everyone on car #8, they did a fantastic job. We always race hard between the two cars, and it was close at every race. That is a real achievement from the team and the drivers, who didn’t make any mistakes. Thank you to our partners and our colleagues in Japan for their support, and of course thank you to Sato san and Morizo san for helping us to be so strong. This year we faced competition from so many manufacturers, and we proved the strength of our car and our team. It is definitely a proud moment for all of us to end the season like this.” Source: Toyota Gazoo racing
Podium crowns Ferrari 499P’s year in FIA WEC.
📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari.
The Ferraris made an excellent start, with the 499Ps number 50 and 51 setting off from the third row. They were in second and third by the first turn, with Molina and Pier Guidi behind the wheel in the early laps. In the middle phase, the red-liveried Hypercars were always near the top of the standings. Although they performed to their full available potential, they were unable to enter the contest for victory. The team’s strategies and efficient pit stops gave the 499Ps a positive end to the world championship season. At the finish line, Antonio Fuoco with #50 499P was 1:36.286 behind the winning #8 Toyota. The trio Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen also end the Drivers’ championship in P3 after clinching two pole positions, at Sebring and Le Mans, four podium finishes: third place in Sebring and Bahrain, plus second at Portimão and Monza.
📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari.
ANTONIO FUOCO: “It was a positive season, with the team performing well in both qualifying and races, especially in the race of races, Le Mans. Obviously, there’s still work to be done to improve in the future, but we can only be satisfied. The Bahrain race? It wasn’t straightforward. We did our best, competing with the Porsches. Our excellent strategy allowed us to hold them off. I’m sorry for the collision with the 499P number 51. I got to turn 7 with more speed, finding Ale (Pier Guidi, Ed) in front. And I was worried about how he might move, so in doubt, I went right. It was a mistake, but the fact remains we’re very united as a team. We’ve already cleared the air, and now we all look to the future together.”
📷 © Courtesy of FIA WEC.
Alessandro Pier Guidi with #51 Ferrari 499P ended the race one lap behind in P6. The 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi with 499P #51 also made the podium at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, finishing third.
ANTONIO GIOVINAZZI: “The 8 Hours was a tough race for us, but here in Bahrain, we ended a season of which we should be really proud. We won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, crowning a year that marked Ferrari’s return to the top endurance class. Now we’ll look to the future and find the motivation to be even stronger next year.” Source: Ferrari
Porsche 963 ends season with P4 and P5.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche. Porsche 963 #38 ahead of Ferrari #50.
The Porsche 963 fielded by Hertz Team Jota crewed by works driver António Félix da Costa, William Stevens and Yifei Ye moved up to fourth place. Halfway through the eight-hour race, Félix da Costa even advanced to third place after overtaking a Ferrari. However, the Portuguese driver lost this position after a braking failure. He was also handed a drive-through penalty for hindering another competitor when he rejoined the track. Nevertheless, in a gripping sprint to the finish, the trio worked their way back up to fourth position. After eight hours of racing at the finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, the #38 Porsche 963 was less than a second off claiming a podium spot.
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche. Porsche 963 #6
Yifei Ye (Porsche 963 #38): “It wasn’t an easy first time for me here in Bahrain. The tyre degradation on this track is huge. We got off to a good start from ninth place and profited from the confusion in the first corner. We could then fight with the two Ferraris. At one point we were even in third place – it’s a shame that we had to give up this podium place shortly before the finish because of a penalty. Still, fourth place is a great result.”
📷 © Courtesy of Porsche. Porsche 963 #5
Starting from P4 on the grid, Laurens Vanthoor had to run wide in his #6 Porsche 963 to avoid a collision – which initially relegated the Belgian to ninth place. As the chase continued, a slight nudge with a GTE vehicle made it necessary to replace the front hood at the next pit stop. For the remainder of the race, the #6 Porsche systematically battled its way up the field and was back within reach of the podium. Ultimately, Vanthoor and his works driver teammates Kévin Estre and André Lotterer took the flag in fifth place.
André Lotterer (Porsche 963 #6): “Fifth place for us and seventh for our teammates is obviously not the result we wanted. We didn’t have the pace we needed to win today. Tyre wear on this asphalt took a toll on our car. We did our very best. Hopefully, we can continue to improve for next season because we want to fight for victory regularly.”
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