Toyota triumphs in Bahrain; Ferrari’s Calado and Pier Guidi win FIA GT Drivers title

The WEC finale was tense, hugely enjoyable and very emotional last weekend. The #8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID dominated and Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima won the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain which was the 50th race of the WEC since its creation in 2012! The Japanese car finished ahead of the two Porsche 919 Hybrids (#2 and #1), making their final appearance in the WEC. In the end, Toyota scored its fifth win of the nine-race season, although the Manufacturers (Porsche) and Drivers titles (Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard and Earl Bamber) were already wrapped up at the Shanghai round in China.

The battle in the LMP2 class was undecided up until the end. The Vaillante Rebellion’s #31 Oreca 07-Gibson won the race as well as the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams, while its drivers, Bruno Senna and Julien Canal (Nicolas Prost missed one race) won the Drivers title. Jackie Chan DC Racing’s #38 ORECA 07-Gibson, second in Bahrain, narrowly lost out on the title due to fuel pick up problems. The second Vaillante Rebellion ORECA 07-Gibson (#13) claimed the third step on the class podium, and after 72 hours of racing this year only 10.6 seconds separated the top two teams. Great racing, great winners, great champions.

Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado (#51 Ferrari 488 GTE), second in this race, secured the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers Champions title, while class victory and the FIA Endurance LMGTE Pro Teams trophy went to AF Corse. The #71 Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird won in Bahrain and the #67 Ford GT finished 3rd.

In the LMGTE Am class, the #98 Aston Martin Vantage of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda finished in first place. The British manufacturer won the FIA Endurance LMGTE Am Teams trophy and the three men the Drivers title ! In Bahrain, they finished ahead of Clearwater Racing’s #61 Ferrari 488 GTE and the Spirit of Race team’s #54.

2017 WEC Titles :

FIA World Endurance Manufacturers Champion: Porsche

FIA World Endurance Drivers Champion: Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard

FIA Endurance LMP2 Teams trophy: Vaillante Rebellion

FIA Endurance LMP2 Drivers trophy: Bruno Senna, Julien Canal

FIA World Endurance GT Manufacturers Champion: Ferrari

FIA Endurance LMGTE Pro Teams trophy: AF Corse

FIA World Endurance GT Drivers Champion: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado

FIA Endurance LMGTE Am Teams trophy: Aston Martin Racing

FIA Endurance LMGTE Am Drivers trophy: Mathias Lauda, Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy