MOTORSPORT – A stacked grid of 36 of the world’s most technologically advanced race cars will be lighting up the track at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) this coming weekend in the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The highly anticipated season-finale of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) takes place on Friday and Saturday at ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’ in Sakhir.
Eighteen cars apiece will be competing in both the WEC’s Hypercar and LMGT3 categories, with each featuring some of the biggest brands in the international motoring industry, including McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Porsche, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Ferrari, Peugeot, Corvette, Ford and Lexus.
There will be no shortage of excitement and drama as the WEC field battles wheel-to-wheel with plenty on the line. Four of the WEC’s coveted 2025 titles are to be decided in Bahrain, including the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship, the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship, the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams, and the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers.
Spearheading the Hypercar category are Ferrari, who currently top the manufacturers’ standings with 204 points. Porsche and Cadillac follow with 165 points and 143 points, respectively – with both needing extraordinary results in Bahrain to wrest away the crown from the leaders.
In the Hypercar drivers’ championship battle, Ferrari AF Corse’s #51 crew of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and James Calado are leaders on 115 points, but they are just 13 ahead of the AF Corse’s trio of Philip Hanson, Robert Kubica, and Yifei Ye in their #83 Hypercar. Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 crew of Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor – two of last season’s Hypercar drivers’ title winners – are still in the fight with 84 points, while Cadillac Hertz Team Jota’s # 12 team of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, and Will Stevens have a slim chance to take the crown but are mathematically in the hunt.
Meanwhile, in the LMGT3 class, Porsche are the frontrunners with the Manthey 1st Phorm #92 crew of Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz, and Ryan Hardwick leading the teams’ and drivers’ standings with 105 points, as they chase back-to-back title doubles. Vista AF Corse’s #21 triumvirate of Alessio Rovera, Francois Heriau, and Simon Mann in a Ferrari follow on 94 points, while TF Sport’s #81 trio of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade, and Tom Van Rompuy in a Corvette are third with 81 points.
Racing this weekend will begin with a pair of practices on Thursday behind closed doors. BIC will then open its gates to fans on Friday when a third practice session will be held, followed by qualifying and Hyperpole. That will determine the starting order for Saturday’s main event, the WEC’s only eight-hour race on the calendar, which will be flagging off in daylight conditions at 2pm and then wrapping up under lights at night at 10pm.
This year’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain will be the 14th WEC race to take place in Sakhir. It will also be the seventh time it is being held in its current eight-hour format.
Aside from the WEC, there will also be plenty of support race action in the Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East as well as non-stop family entertainment on both days – ensuring that there is something for everybody.
The WEC is one of the most prestigious series in all of motor racing, and tickets to the event offer tremendous value for an occasion of its calibre – rates that cannot be matched anywhere else in the world for a world championship event under the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Grandstand seats cost just BD5.5 for adults and BD2.75 for children for both days of racing and family entertainment. They can be bought online at bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000.
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