Ferrari and Corvette's podium at 8 Hours of Bahrain

WECLMGT3

Nov 7

Second win in a row for Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 and first podium and best combined result of the season for both TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R at 6 Hours of Bahrain.

Top 3 at 6 hours of Bahrain — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. Top 3 LMGT3 at 6 Hours of Bahrain: Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 #55, TF Sport’s #81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R and #82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Second win in a row Ferrari 296 LMGT3

The 296 LMGT3 ended the season on a high, with pole position in the penultimate event and two consecutive wins. Following Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #54’s victory in Fuji, the sister car, #55, driven by Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau, triumphed in Bahrain after an intense and eventful race.

#55 Ferrari 296 LMGT3, driven by Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera with #55 Visat AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.

Starting from third on the grid, Ferrari #55 stayed in the top positions early on, driven by François Heriau, before slipping back when the right door needed replacing. Simon Mann took over for the middle stint, engaging in several on-track duels. A pivotal moment came with around two hours remaining, as a safety car intervention reshuffled the order and compressed the field. After the restart, official driver Alessio Rovera executed a series of rapid overtakes, seizing the lead and holding it down to the finish. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #55 crossed the line with a margin of around three seconds over the runner-up. This marked Alesio Rovera's fifth GT class victory in the FIA WEC and the first win for his teammates, Heriau and Mann.

The season concluded with François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera securing third place in the drivers’ standings with 97 points.

Goodyear Wingfoot Award

Alessio Rovera’s results across the eight FIA WEC races also earned him the “Goodyear Wingfoot Award” as the fastest driver in the LMGT3 class.

Alessio Rovera: “I’m thrilled to have claimed my first win with the 296 LMGT3 in the World Championship; it’s a special joy. We’ve been close to the podium all year. The team worked incredibly well here in Bahrain, especially during the pit stops, with the last stop being five seconds faster than the others. Congratulations, above all, to François (Heriau, ed.) and Simon (Mann, ed.) for managing the tyres in the opening part of the race, as the key really lay in those last three to four hours.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera with #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.

Simon Mann: “We had to endure a bit initially by double-stinting the tyres, but we could take advantage of the fresh tyres at the end. We achieved many excellent results this season, and this victory is truly the best way to close the season.”

François Heriau: “In the first part of the race, the aim was simply to stay in contention and conserve as many sets of tyres as possible. I started with the qualifying tyres and completed a double stint. With this strategy, more tyres were available for the final stint, which proved decisive after the Safety Car. We’re delighted with this result, which rewards the entire team for all the hard work put in.” Source: Ferrari

Double Podium for TF SPORT and CORVETTE

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Bahrain. #81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood.

The first WEC campaign alongside Corvette and Chevrolet saw TF Sport score a double podium finish in the final round of the championship. At the end of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the team's two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs took second and third place in their category, ending the season on a high note.

At the end of a fantastic race, the #81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood finished in P2, just ahead of the #82 sister car of Hiroshi Koizumi, Sébastien Baud and Daniel Juncadella. This impressive result confirms the progress made throughout the season by the team and Corvette Racing: after a misfortunate start to the championship, both cars showed increasing speed in both qualifying and the race.

Strong performances had come in both the Lone Star Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Fuji, where only hiccups prevented TF Sport and Corvette Racing from getting the result they deserved. In a weekend free of hitches, the team's strength emerged, allowing the team to claim important prizes and points.

Mark Stielow, Director, GM Motorsports Competition Engineering: “Congratulations to TF Sport, team owner Tom Ferrier,the drivers and everyone in the team on a double podium finish to close out the FIA WEC season in Bahrain - the first in this championship for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It has been exciting to watch the team continually working and extracting more and more from their Corvettes in each event this year. This is a great way not just to end 2024, but also use this as a springboard to bigger and better things in 2025”. Source: TF Sport

Tom Ferrier, TF Sport owner: “I feel like this has been a long time coming. I think at CoTA we could have had a podium and at Fuji we could have won if there was no contact. So it's really nice to finish in this way. To get both cars on the podium is a massive team effort. I'm incredibly happy for all the guys and girls who have worked so hard. It's been a barren year for podiums but we've been getting better and better. Everyone at GM and Corvette Racing has worked tirelessly in the background. It's a lovely result for everyone involved. It sets us up for next year with a good starting point. We should come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders!”. Source: TF Sport

Part 2 follows with cars ranked fourth to tenth

8 Hours of Bahrain Final LMGT3 Classification