LIVE – Ferrari crowned world champions, follow the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the WEC final, with live text commentary

For the final of WEC, Toyota starts from pole position. After the setback at Fuji, on home soil, the Japanese brand will be on the front row with its two Hypercars ahead of the two Peugeot Usually successful on this circuit, the team of Kamui Kobayashi will have to deal with the fact that the world title will be contested between Ferrari et Porsche during these 8 Hours of Bahrain. A true match within the match between the two Manufacturers, the battle could last, given that they are not playing leading roles on the starting grid of the race.

Watch the Bahrain 8 Hours live on video

Follow the live rankings with live timing

By: Mathieu Chambenoit, Michaël Duforest and Valentin Glo

WEC – 8H of Bahrain
Follow the race live with commentary

20h10 - Thank you for following us throughout this season, we look forward to seeing you again at the end of March for the 1812km of Qatar 2026! But until then, you can of course follow all the WEC action on AUTOhebdo.fr and in the magazine, every Monday at 20pm in digital format, and every Wednesday at newsstands.

Toyota wins the 8 Hours of Bahrain, Ferrari takes the titles, Manthey crowned champion in LMGT3

20:03 PM – 🏁 Victory for the #87 Lexus, just ahead of the Mercedes-AMG #61!

20:02 PM – Ferrari wins the World Constructors' Championship, while Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado are World Drivers' Champions!

20:02 PM – 🏁 TOYOTA DOUBLES IN BAHRAIN! Number 7 wins ahead of number 8.

20h00 - Nyck de Vries starts the final lap at the wheel of the No. 7 Toyota! The Japanese brand is going to secure a one-two finish ahead of the three Ferraris.

19h58 - The two official Ferraris will swap positions, in order to give third place in the championship to car #50, and ensure a 1-2-3 finish for the Maranello firm!

19h57 - The Mercedes #61 takes second position; will the Belgian driver have enough time to catch the Argentinian José Maria? López ?

19h56 - The Lexus #87 is pulling away with a two-second lead, while Maxime Martin is desperately trying to overtake Mattia Drudi for second place in LMGT3!

19h53 - The Hypercars are coming to play the role of kingmakers in the LMGT3 battle, the Peugeots and the Alpine join the fight!

19h51 - We're in the last ten minutes, there's a 14-second gap between the Toyotas, while there are only three tenths between the two leading cars in LMGT3!

19h49 - Mattia Drudi has made contact with theAston MartinHe's in the rearview mirrors of José Maria López, who's driving the Lexus!

19h48 - The fight for victory in LMGT3 is extremely close, the Lexus #87 is now only one second ahead of the Aston Martin #27 and 2,7 seconds ahead of the Mercedes #61!

19h45 - While the No. 7 Toyota remains unchallenged at the moment, the No. 51 Ferrari is closing in, now only eight-tenths of a second behind the No. 8 Toyota. For now, it would celebrate the world title with a podium finish!

19:42 p.m. – 📊 We are in the last twenty minutes of the WEC season, the perfect opportunity to take a final look at the standings!

19h38 - Nicklas Nielsen (Ferrari #50) takes fourth place from Robert Kubica in Ferrari #83.

19h37 - The reason for the previous Full Course Yellow is comical, since it was a collision between the two official Porsches, the No. 6 which touched the No. 5 and lost a piece of debris in the maneuver!

19h36 - Fitted with new tires, Maxime Martin is unleashed, he attacks Mattia Drudi for second place in LMGT3!

19:34 PM – 🟢 We're back on track after a two-minute neutralization!

19h32 - 🟡 FULL COURSE YELLOW 🟡 There is debris on the track on the pit straight.

19h31 - Nyck de Vries (Toyota #7) immediately set the fastest lap of the race; the Dutchman has a 21,8-second lead over Sébastien Buemi in Toyota #8!

19h30 - Maxime Martin takes third place in LMGT3 with the Mercedes #61!

19:29 PM – 🟢 GREEN FLAG 🟢 We're restarting 32 minutes from the checkered flag!

19h28 - The safety car will come in at the end of this lap, and for Nyck de Vries' Toyota No. 7, things are going very well, given that he has a lot of cars sandwiched between him and the second Toyota, No. 8!

19h27 - The standings before a restart which should take place about half an hour before the finish…

19h22 - The Aston Martin #009 is taking a gamble with four used medium tires, while Toyota is opting for two brand new mediums on the left side. Ferrari is sticking with hard tires on the left.

19:18 p.m. – 🟡 SAFETY CAR 🟡 As per the regulations, the Virtual Safety Car is followed by a "real" safety car.

19h16 - We also take advantage of the VSC on the LMGT3 side to stop, the Lexus No. 87 retains the command of the category.

19h14 - The No. 7 Toyota also pitted; it certainly didn't have the opportunity when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

19h13 - The Aston Martin #009 returns to the pits, as does the Ferrari #83, and that's more surprising! One might have expected the "yellow Ferrari" to stay on track…

19h12 - Toyota #8 and Ferrari #51 have stopped, the leading Toyota (No. 7) remains on track!

19h11 - 📊 The standings before the pit stops at the front of the race:

19h10 - 🟡 VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR 🟡 This could reignite this final!

19:08 – 💥 Dries Vanthoor, in the number 15 BMW, spun out and explained that he couldn't move; the right rear wheel nut was missing from the German Hypercar!

19h08 - The final stops of the race (and the season) also begin in LMGT3, with the No. 81 TF Sport Corvette and the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche.

19h04 - Emotions run high throughout the Hypercar series. The Porsche mechanics have a "Goodbye" sign for their final pit stops, while at Cadillac, Jenson Button is given the last stint in the No. 38. The world champion of F1 2009 retires from full-time piloting this Saturday.

19h03 - Last stop for the Ferrari No. 50, just like for the Peugeot No. 94.

19h02 - A look at the standings as the final hour of the season begins. The #6 Porsche, the #93 Peugeot, and the #15 BMW are in the pits.

18h59 - We are preparing for a pit stop at Porsche Penske Motorsport, the two cars will pass through the pit lane for the last time in WEC, the German manufacturer leaving the discipline at the end of the season.

18h55 - If Robert Kubica is looking for a neutralization, he could count on the two LMGT3 drivers, as their battle is particularly fierce! Juncadella finds an opening, not without a little middle finger extended through the Corvette window!

18h53 - Dani Juncadella (Corvette #33) tries to squeeze past the BMW #31 in turn 10, the two cars touch, but the Bavarian stays ahead!

18h49 - With 1 hour and 11 minutes remaining, the Ferrari #83 made its pit stop; the yellow car is unlikely to reach the finish line without an additional stop, but a neutralization period would restart the race!

18:48 – 💥 Earl Bamber (Cadillac #38) made a mistake in the last corner, but was able to restart without any further damage other than some flat spots on his tires!

18h44 - Nyck de Vries (Toyota No. 7) did not wait for the pit stops to regain the lead of the race, overtaking Robert Kubica (Ferrari No. 83).

18h43 - The Ferrari No. 51 returns to the pits, probably for the penultimate time, and they again fit hard tires on the left side, and medium tires on the right side.

18:40 p.m. – 📻 "Come on Harry, you've got 15 laps left, you have to make them count!" Harry Tincknell is being motivated at Aston Martin, he is driving the No. 007, currently in tenth position.

18h38 - James Calado has returned to the front with the Ferrari No. 51, but he only has 6% energy left, so he will soon be making a pit stop, as will Robert Kubica in the Ferrari No. 83.

18h37 - The leading car, Toyota No. 7, makes a pit stop; Kamui Kobayashi gives way to Nyck de Vries.

18h32 - 📊 A quick update on the standings with 1 hour and 30 minutes remaining in the 2025 WEC season:

18h25 - José María López took the wheel of the No. 87 Lexus, still leading in LMGT3, while Riccardo Pera now occupies second place at the wheel of the No. 92 Porsche, ahead of Maxime Martin's No. 61 Mercedes.

18h21 - In the little game of pit stops, theAlpine No. 35 is very provisionally on the podium! But Paul-Loup Chatin is overtaken by Marco Sørensen in the Aston Martin No. 009.

18h17 - The leading cars are also stopping in LMGT3, so the No. 87 Lexus should not be too long in regaining control of the category.

18h14 - The leading Lexus in LMGT3 pit stop, as well as the No. 8 Toyota, which was on the provisional podium in the overall standings.

18h12 - Mercedes is making a comeback against Lexus, but could the German brand dominate in its first season back in the US? Endurance World Cup? First, we'll have to keep Riccardo Pera's Porsche #92 at the back, which is honking its horn…

18h10 - The gap between Clemens Schmid (Lexus #87) and Lin Hodenius (Mercedes #61) is now 19,5 seconds, at the head of the LMGT3.

18h04 - With less than two hours to go before the end of this final, we see two strategies clashing: that of the leaders, the Toyota No. 7 and the Ferrari No. 51, who have between 50 and 60% of energy available, and the other machines which have much less and will soon have to stop in the pits, or have just done so.

18:02 PM – 🌖 Quick weather update: the air temperature is 25,7°C, and the track temperature is 26,1°C.

18h01 - A small mistake by Hirakawa (Toyota #8), and James Calado takes advantage to move into third place with the Ferrari #51.

17:59 PM – The complete standings two hours before the end of the season:

17h50 - Hirakawa finds an opening on the Peugeot thanks to the engine of a Ford Mustang GT3. Jakobsen tries to overtake, but the Japanese driver holds his position.

17h47 - Jakobsen finally cracked against Fuoco and now has to defend against Hirakawa.

17h45 - The new top 10 after the latest stops:

17h44 - The Ferrari No. 83 makes its pit stop, the Toyota No. 7 is back in the lead.

17h42 - Several cars stopped in front of them. Ferrari number 83 is temporarily in the lead.

17h41 - The three-way battle continues in traffic. What a defense from the Peugeot driver!

17h38 - Hirakawa has come roaring back at the duo.

17h36 - Another big battle between Jakobsen and Fuoco, but the Dane from Peugeot is holding on!

17:34 PM – A new update on the top 10 as the next pit stops approach. The Aston Martins have already made their pit stops.

17h31 - Fuoco is back on the Peugeot. The Italian flashes Malthe Jakobsen to put pressure on him.

17h28 - Oh, what a scare for Antonio Fuoco at the first corner! The Ferrari driver almost hit the back of the Peugeot #94 in front of him.

17h24 - Now 4th in LMGT3, Mathey's No. 92 Porsche is in a position to clinch the world title.

17h22 - The #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie has reclaimed the podium position from the #007, but is under threat from the #83 Ferrari. Without making a fuss, theAlpine No. 35 is now 5th.

17h21 - Ross Gunn stops and hands over the wheel of the Aston Martin Valkyrie No. 007 to Harry Tincknell.

17h20 - The #87 Lexus of Akkodis, leading the LMGT3 class, makes a pit stop. The #61 Mercedes takes the lead.

17h19 - Nato double Gounon for 7th place.

17h18 - The current top 10:

17h15 - French duel for 7th place between Jules Gounon (Alpine) and Norman Nato (Cadillac).

17h13 - Another stop for the No. 8 Toyota, which will drop significantly down the standings. Alpine move up to 6th and 7th.

17h11 - Let's talk a bit about LMGT3, it's been a while. Akkodis ASP Team is still going strong with its only remaining car, the #87 currently driven by Clemens Schmid. The #61 Mercedes-AMG is second, but 25 seconds behind!

17h06 - It's also worth noting that if the situation remains as it is at the checkered flag, all manufacturers would have achieved a podium finish this season. Only Toyota and Aston Martin have yet to reach the podium.

17h00 - The full standings three hours from the finish. In this configuration, the titles go to Ferrari.

16h57 - Based on a completely unconventional strategy, Theo Pourchaire pass through the pits. The Ferrari #50 and the Aston Martin #007 are now on the podium.

16h54 - His name is Gunn, Ross Gunn, and here he is fourth after overtaking Paul di Resta!

16h51 - Ross Gunn now has the podium in his sights with the No. 007 of the British manufacturer.

16h50 - Ross Gunn overtakes Matt Campbell to place the Aston Martin 007 in the top 5.

16h46 - Hirakawa in the pits to pay the drive-through penalty for Toyota No. 8.

16h45 - By the time this ranking was published, Kobayashi had overtaken the Frenchman for first place.

16h44 - Pourchaire now has to hold off Kamui Kobayashi's Toyota at the front of the race.

16:43 PM – Drive-through penalty for Toyota #8 for overtaking under a yellow flag!

16h42 - While Pourchaire is in the lead with the 94, Paul di Resta is defending against Antonio Fuoco with the 93.

16h39 - Yifei Ye stops in turn, with Théo Pourchaire in the lead!

16h38 - The Toyota #8, in the lead, passes through the pits. The AF Corse Ferrari #83 takes the provisional lead ahead of Pourchaire's Peugeot.

16h37 - Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari) and Matt Campbell (Porsche) are side by side on several corners but the Italian maintains his position.

16h33 - Nyck de Vries (Toyota) and Alex Riberas (Aston Martin) make a pit stop.

16h32 - It's getting heated in GT3 between Kelvin van der Linde (BMW) and Rahel Frey (Porsche)! Both drivers are staying on track despite a few collisions!

16:28 PM – A look at the top 10 with the rise of Alpine and by Théo Pourchaire:

16h26 - Mick Schumacher (Alpine) and Sheldon van der Linde (BMW) are fighting for 8th place.

16h24 - Sousa takes too wide at turn 1 and allows Rossi to regain 8th place in GT3.

16h21 - Duel between Valentino Rossi, legend of MotoGPand Bernardo Sousa, former pilot of rally, for 8th place in GT3. The Portuguese driver from Ford takes the lead over the Italian driver from BMW.

16h19 - The No. 6 Porsche has come back to the heels of the No. 93 Peugeot, but it is a duel for 12th place.

16:14 PM – And so here's a ranking alert with this new change of leader:

16:12 PM – Alex Riberas pits to pay his drive-through penalty. The No. 8 Toyota retakes the lead ahead of the No. 7. The No. 009 Aston Martin rejoins in 5th place, behind the No. 007.

16h09 - Alex Riberas continues despite his penalty. He now has a lead of more than ten seconds!

16:06 PM – Drive through penalty for the leader, Alex Riberas, for failure to comply with VSC procedures! Meanwhile, the #21 Ferrari and the #33 Corvette collide but get going again.

16h03 - A look at the standings after the halfway point of the race:

15h59 - Riding his momentum, Alex Riberas extends his lead. The Spaniard now has a margin of over five seconds.

15h57 - In the GT3 category, López is widening the gap over Maxime Martin with his Lexus.

15:54 PM – A new leader means a new update on the top 10 Hypercars… but Riberas is under investigation for not complying with VSC procedures!

15h53 - The difference in pace between the Aston Martin and its competitors since the restart is due to the choice of having fitted four new medium tires.

15:51 PM – Alex Riberas makes short work of Sébastien Buemi and puts the Aston Martin Valkyrie No. 009 in the lead!

15h48 - The top 10 in the Hypercar category as the Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 speeds towards Buemi.

15h46 - Riberas now overtakes Nyck de Vries and places the Valkyrie No. 009 in second position!

15h45 - Alex Riberas makes a huge comeback! The Spaniard driving for Aston Martin is now 3rd and is even attacking Nyck de Vries for second!

15h43 - A video recap of the accident between Jenson Button and Thomas Flohr:

⚠️ Safety car

HUGE G-force crash for #54 Vista AF Corse but great to see Thomas Flohr get out unaided.

Watch our season finale LIVE on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu 🎥 #WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/MIg9TG77IU

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 8, 2025

15:42 PM – The race resumes!

15:41 PM – The Safety Car procedure is still ongoing.

15:36 – Confirmed retirement for the Ferrari #54, entered in LMGT3.

Ferrari OUT of the race ❌

After getting caught up in a Hypercar battle and plowing into the barrier, #54 Vista AF Corse has been forced to withdraw.

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu 🎥 #WEC #8HBahrain @AFCorse @FerrariRaces pic.twitter.com/3W2xd8636A

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 8, 2025

3:33 PM – In LMGT15, the #87 Akkodis Lexus is leading the way ahead of the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes. José María López and Maxime Martin are driving, respectively.

15:28 PM – Race standings under the Safety Car:

15:23 PM – Wave of pit stops during this Virtual Safety Car period. Night has fallen on the circuit.

15:19 PM – Unfortunately for soon-to-be-retired Jenson Button, he is the one who caused the accident.

15:17 PM – Thomas Flohr is sent into the wall by a Cadillac! The Swiss driver gets out of the car, Virtual Safety Car!

15h15 - Jean-Éric Vergne (Peugeot) is under pressure from Alex Riberas (Aston Martin) for 4th place.

15h13 - On Alpine are on the verge of scoring points, in 11th and 12th places.

15h10 - A look at the top 10 with just under five hours to go.

15h08 - The two Toyotas are back in the top two positions after the double pit stop for the Ferraris. De Vries, in the No. 7, is ahead of the No. 8.

15h06 - Both Ferraris made the same stop, changing their rear tires. They rejoined the race on hard tires.

15h05 - Ferraris #51 and #50 pass through the pit lane.

15:01 p.m. – 📊 The provisional standings five hours from the finish, as we witness the third passes through the pit lane.

14h59 - Théo Pourchaire returns to the pits at the end of his first stint in the Hypercar, with the Peugeot #94. This allows the three Ferraris to provisionally occupy second, third and fourth places.

14h57 - Toyota might be attempting an undercut; Sébastien Buemi is more than a second faster than the #51 Ferrari. Could the two Toyotas find themselves at the front in a few moments? A one-two finish for the Japanese manufacturer could allow them to finish second in the constructors' championship.

14h52 - The leading Toyota has a 3,2-second advantage, while the No. 8 car pits, logically before its rivals since it stopped earlier. Only the left-side tires are changed, notably a medium on the front!

14:48 – ⚒️ Problem for the McLaren No. 59 returning to the garage.

14h47 - Almost the entire field stopped in LMGT3, with the exception of the two Ford Mustangs, and the No. 85 Porsche of the Iron Dames.

14:45 PM – ⚠️ Five-second penalty for Alex Lynn (Cadillac #12) following contact with Kévin Estre's Porsche No. 6.

14h42 - Pit stop for the Lexus #87 which is leading the way in LMGT3.

14h39 - It was the turn of Peugeot No. 93 to stop, they simply changed the rear-left tire, with a hard tire for Jean-Éric Vergne.

14h37 - We stop quite early at the Aston Martin No. 009, Roman de Angelis gives way to Alex Riberas.

14:33 PM – 🌅 The track temperature is dropping more and more, now at 32°C, while the air temperature is still 28°C.

14h32 - François Hériau finishes his early part of the race having in principle completed the minimum driving time, he gives up his seat to Alessio Rovera in the Ferrari No. 21 in LMGT3.

14h30 - The gap increases slightly at the front after 2 hours and 30 minutes of racing, the No. 7 Toyota now has a lead of almost five seconds over the No. 51 Ferrari.

14h25 - As the sun gently sets over Bahrain, the top 3 stabilize at the front, four seconds between Nyck de Vries' Toyota and Alessandro Pier Guidi's Ferrari, while Sébastien Buemi is 6,4 seconds behind.

14h22 - 📊 The results of the Bahrain 8 Hours:

14:19 p.m. – 💬 Antonio Giovinazzi after his stint in the #51 Ferrari: "So far so good, a solid double stint from 7th to 2nd place, I felt good in the car and, as expected, our race pace is pretty good. Nevertheless, the race has only just begun, anything can happen, so let's stay focused and continue to do our job properly."

14h16 - The Ferrari No. 50 was able to take advantage of the pit stops to overtake the Peugeot No. 94 of Théo Pourchaire, the Prancing Horse is in fifth place, ahead of the Aston Martin No. 009 and the Peugeot.

14h11 - In LMGT3, Petru Umbrarescu now leads the way with the Lexus No. 87, six seconds ahead of the Mercedes-AMG No. 61.

14h08 - At the end of the second pit stop, the No. 7 Toyota now has a 2,2 second lead over the No. 51 Ferrari, which sees the No. 8 Toyota close to within 1,6 seconds!

14h06 - The No. 7 Toyota changes its four tires, and it retains the strategy of having a medium tire on the front right, and the rest in hard tires.

14h05 - Leader's pit stop Mike conwayOne day after Ferrari #51! Giovinazzi handed the wheel to Alessandro Pier Guidi, will an undercut be possible for the Prancing Horse?

14h04 - At Porsche, they are changing the drivers of the two official 963s, Kévin Estre is taking the wheel of the No. 6 while Laurin Heinrich has slipped into the cockpit of the No. 5 for his first Hypercar race in WEC!

14h02 - The first stops begin for the majority of the peloton, and on theAlpine No. 35, we're taking the gamble of switching to medium tires!

14h01 - 📊 The overall standings with six hours of racing remaining… A standard WEC event, in short!

14:00 – ⚒️ The Akkodis ASP team confirms that it is an electronic problem which is currently keeping the No. 78 in the pits, Arnold Robin's car has not restarted after his pit stop.

13h58 - Unsurprisingly, Sébastien Buemi is achieving similar lap times to the leaders with the No. 8 Toyota, 1:54.0 for the Swiss driver on his last lap.

13h57 - At Peugeot, Théo Pourchaire is preparing for his first stint in a race at the wheel of the Peugeot 9X8 #94. The Frenchman spoke to us at the beginning of the weekend.

Théo Pourchaire and the "great pleasure" of starting with Peugeot

13h55 - Brendon Hartley explains that the plan is therefore, on the No. 8 Toyota, to benefit at the end of the race from new tires, in order to perhaps win, as was the case, with the same strategy, in 2024.

13:54 – ⚒️ Bad news for the Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 of the Akkodis ASP team, which is in its garage.

13h52 - As we approach the end of the second hour of the race, Mike Conway is holding on in the No. 7 Toyota, he is still in the lead with an eight-tenths advantage over Antonio Giovinazzi's No. 51 Ferrari.

13h52 - The leading car in LMGT3, the Mercedes-AMG No. 61, passes through the pit lane.

13h50 - Unsurprisingly, Buemi will leave with four new tires on his Toyota GR010.

13h48 - The No. 8 Toyota will pit at the end of this lap, confirming a shorter second stint for the Japanese car, with the same tires as at the start! Sébastien Buemi will take the wheel.

13h48 - In LMGT3, the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes continues to lead the way, with a lead of nearly ten seconds over the #33 TF Sport Corvette.

13h47 - Paul Di Resta (Peugeot No. 93) has returned to the tracks of the Toyota No. 8, without being able to find an opening for the moment.

13h45 - With only six tenths of a second separating the two leading cars, Mike Conway maintains his lead with the No. 7 Toyota against Antonio Giovinazzi's No. 51 Ferrari, the two men have pushed the No. 8 Toyota back by more than ten seconds.

13h43 - Loïc duval (Peugeot No. 94) has to defend against the Ferrari No. 50 of Nicklas Nielsen, the two drivers are fighting for fifth position.

13h40 - Conway and Giovinazzi are attacking at the front of the race, Brendon Hartley is now 9 seconds behind the leader, he is losing 2,5 seconds per lap… but this could be corrected at the end of the race when the Toyota has a fresher set of tires available!

13:38 p.m. – 📊 A look at the standings:

13h35 - And Antonio Giovinazzi takes second place with the No. 51 Ferrari, while Hartley moves towards a shorter stint, he has 27% of energy left, while the others have between 45 and 47.

13h33 - Change of leader, unsurprisingly, Mike Conway takes the lead with the No. 7 Toyota ahead of the No. 8 which will try everything it can to keep the No. 51 Ferrari behind!

13h31 - The battle is tightening at the front of the race, Conway is now 1,3 seconds behind Hartley, while Antonio Giovinazzi is also making a strong comeback, he is 2,8 seconds behind the leader!

13h29 - Earl Bamber (Cadillac #38) is struggling; he's currently 17th and explains that he can't do anything against his rivals. After a good start, Will Stevens is eighth in the #12 Cadillac.

13h25 - Toyota No. 8 has a lead of only 5,8 seconds over No. 7, as we slowly approach the second pit stop window.

13h19 - The No. 007 Aston Martin enters the top 10, overtaking the No. 5 Porsche.

13h18 - Slight contact in traffic for the No. 5 Porsche of Julien Andlauer, which touched the No. 54 Ferrari.

13h17 - And the gap is now even down to ten seconds between the two leading Toyotas, while in LMGT3, the Mercedes No. 61 has a 1,5 second lead over the Lexus No. 87.

13h13 - As you can imagine, Mike Conway (Toyota #7) is much faster than Brendon Hartley (Toyota #8), the gap between the two leading cars is now less than 14 seconds.

13h12 - The exchange of positions between the Peugeots took place at the end of the main straight. Di Resta is 3,9 seconds behind the Ferrari #51.

13h11 - 📻 "Are they letting me through or not?" asks Paul Di Resta on the radio, the Peugeot No. 93 now being in the tail of the No. 94 of Loïc Duval.

13h08 - The No. 8 Toyota now leads by 18 seconds over its sister car, a gap explained by tire strategy. The No. 8 car did not change its tires, while the No. 7 car changed its left-side tires. The Japanese Hypercars therefore retain their medium tires on the front right, where their rivals started the race on hard tires.

13h07 - A change of leader in LMGT3: Lin Hodenius (Mercedes #61) takes the lead from Clemens Schmid (Lexus #87). Meanwhile, Rahel Frey takes over from Célia Martin in the #85 Porsche Iron Dames, following contact within the pack.

13h05 - Antonio Giovinazzi (Ferrari #51) seized third place by overtaking Loïc Duval's Peugeot #94. For now, the Prancing Horse is in an ideal position for the titles!

13:02 PM – 📊 As the No. 7 Toyota and the No. 6 Porsche also stop, here's the latest on the standings after the first pit stops!

13h00 - The Toyota #8 in the pits leads the way for the two Ferraris #50 and 51 as well as the AF Corse #83. Peugeot, Cadillac and Porsche also make their pit stops.

12:57 – The Cadillac #38 and the two Aston Martin Hypercars are now making their pit stops!

12:53 PM – Just as the Ferrari #51 had overtaken the Cadillac #12, the Peugeot #93 made a mistake! Paul Di Resta spun out, alone in the middle of the pack, and lost his fourth place!

12h53 - First pit stops in LMGT3! The Iron Dames Porsche, the #46 BMW and the #60 Iron Lynx are stopped.

12h49 - Laurens Vanthoor's Porsche #6 overtakes the BMW #15! A great pass at the hairpin, under braking while cornering! Porsche mentioned on the radio the possibility of making a pit stop in six laps if they couldn't make the pass. The Germans' strategy is now one to watch.

12:47 PM – Earl Bamber is in trouble! The #6 Porsche moves up after the #38's mistake, but theAlpine Number 35 remains blocked.

12h46 - 📻 Earl Bamber in discussion with his engineer on the radio, Cadillac could be preparing an undercut as the estimated power of each of the Hypercars now flirts with 25%.

12:43 PM – No worries for Alpine who will not incur any penalty after the departure incident.

12h41 - Ferdinand Habsburg locks his wheels and struggles to brake at the end of the straight, losing his 14th place to the No. 6 Porsche. Once again, a great comeback from the crew.

12h40 - 💬 Harry Tincknell is told over the radio that the front-left tire needs to be managed better for the rest of the race.

12:37 – Laurens Vanthoor takes an opportunistic approach under braking for the first corner! The driver of the #6 Porsche overtakes the #20 BMW of René Rast and moves into 15th place!

12h33 - Earl Bamber's Cadillac #38 is in contact with the BMW #15 of Kevin Magnussen.

12:30 PM – 📊 After the first half hour of racing, here is the provisional standings for the 8 Hours of Bahrain!

12h26 - Nicklas Nielsen's Ferrari No. 50 narrowly defeated Julien Andlauer's Porsche No. 5 to take ninth place.

12:23 PM – ⚠️ Initially, the two Alpine Numbers 35 and 36 collided! An investigation is underway!

12h21 - In GT3, the battle is fierce! The #54 Ferrari and the #59 McLaren are locked in a wheel-to-wheel fight. Celia Martin's #85 Porsche takes advantage of the battle and moves up to 33rd place.

12h18 - After 18 minutes of racing, the first Hypercars are already catching up with the GT3s.

12h14 - A great three-way battle between Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in GT3! They were all three side-by-side on the start/finish straight; that's definitely the Racing Spirit of Leman #10.

12h12 - Julien Andlauer makes a tough defense against Niklas Nielsen! The No. 5 Porsche maintains its ninth place at this stage.

12h09 - 📹 Relive the start of these 8 Hours of Bahrain in video!

The Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain is GREEN!! 🟢

For the last time this year… LET'S GO RACING.

Watch our season finale LIVE on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu. 🎥 #WEC #8HBahrain pic.twitter.com/Jgua4qROlZ

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) November 8, 2025

12h06 - The Iron Dames Porsche makes contact with the AF Corse #54! The GT3 leaves the track for a few seconds before returning to the racing line. The yellow flag is quickly lifted.

12h04 - The Ferrari No. 50 is now defending against the BMW No. 15 and remains 10th after the first corner.

12:03 – Kevin Magnussen battles with Nicklas Nielsen's Ferrari while Harry Tincknell tries to take advantage to overtake!

12:01 – Cadillac #12 has overtaken Peugeot #93!

12:00 PM – The 8-hour race in Bahrain has begun!

11:55 AM – The formation tour begins in Bahrain!

11h51 - In 3 minutes, the starting grid will empty to make way for the cars alone before the start of the formation lap!

11h45 - These 8 Hours of Bahrain also represent the last for Yannick Dalmas, driver of the WEC safety car.

11h37 - Another major event of this edition of the Bahrain 8 Hours will take place in a few minutes: Jenson Button will start his final race as a professional driver. At 45, the Briton will end his career after this WEC finale.

Jenson Button wearing a special helmet for his last race

11h30 - On the starting grid, it is worth noting the presence of Antonio Félix da Costa, dressed in an outfit bearing the colors ofAlpine The driver, who will be joining the French manufacturer next year, will also be present at this Sunday's Rookie Test.

11h25 - 📊 As a reminder, the battle for the Constructors' Championship takes place this Saturday between Ferrari, Porsche, and Cadillac. Mathematically, all three are still in contention, but the Italians are naturally the favorites.

Under what circumstances could Ferrari lose the Constructors' title at the Bahrain 8 Hours?

11h15 - 💬 Proud of his team's reaction, Kamui Kobayashi expressed above all his joy at seeing Toyota back at the forefront before the conclusion of this season: “I’m very happy to be on pole again,” said the Japanese driver after securing pole position at the Bahrain 8 Hours. “It’s the result of excellent work and a huge effort from the team. The season has been difficult so far, so I’m very proud that we were able to turn things around and achieve a one-two finish today.”

Kobayashi leads the charge for Toyota: "I am very proud that we were able to turn things around."

11h10 - 📊 While pole position went to the No. 7 Toyota of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nick de Vries in the Hypercar category, it was the Lexus of the Akkodis ASP team of Arnold Robin, Ben Barnicoat, and Finn Gehrsitz that achieved the best time in the Hyperpole in the GT3 category.

11h05 - 📊 Before the race starts at 12:00 (French time), here's a reminder of the starting grid! Toyota occupies the front row ahead of the two Peugeots.

Toyota on pole, Peugeot in ambush: the starting grid for the 2025 Bahrain 8 Hours

11h00 - 👋 Hello everyone! Welcome to AUTOhebdo.fr to follow the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2025 WEC season!