MOTORSPORT – TOYOTA Gazoo Racing (TGR) are upbeat ahead of today’s Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, which closes the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
TGR have won every WEC event in the kingdom since its switch to its current eight-hour format in 2019. Toyota are also the WEC’s most successful manufacturer in Bahrain, having triumphed in 10 of the 13 WEC events held so far at ‘The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East’.
But while TGR have ruled in the desert over the years, their 2025 campaign hasn’t been their best. They currently stand fourth in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship standings, and their #7 crew of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries are their leading squad in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship in seventh.
Despite this, TGR remain confident of putting on a good performance in today’s WEC curtain-closer at BIC, and are in prime position to do so, having secured a front-row lockout with their pair of GR010-Hybrid Hypercars. They will now be aiming to claim their sole WEC victory this year.
“Bahrain is always a challenging track for everyone – it really requires very good tyre management because of the track heat and surface, so it is really easy to damage the tyre, but we’ve been racing here for many years, and based on this experience, I think we have learned somehow how to deal with it,” TGR Europe vice-chairman Kazuki Nakajima told the GDN yesterday on the sidelines of a media event for fans, organised by Ebrahim K Kanoo, the exclusive distributor of Toyota in Bahrain.
“We had practice yesterday and today, and I think we look reasonably good in terms of tyre management and long-run pace,” Nakajima added, speaking prior to their stellar results in last night’s Hyperpole session when their #7 trio claimed pole.
“Ferrari and Porsche look as strong, but compared to some other races, I think we look more competitive. We have a good feeling for the race.”
Nakajima noted that anything can happen in an endurance event, especially due to the traffic between Hypercar and LMGT3 contenders. TGR must thus be at the top of their game in their GR010-Hybrid for the full eight hours of battles today, which he describes as being “a big challenge, but a challenge we like”.
“The specialty of endurance racing is we have two different classes – we always race against our rivals in the Hypercar class, but at the same time we have to drive through the LMGT3 traffic,” said the Japanese ace, who is a former WEC and Formula One driver.
“Traffic management is always about risk management – how much risk you take and also how much time you can gain. This is a constant challenge for drivers and it often gives a bit of drama in the race.
“In endurance races, you never know, you can never really relax up until the moment of the chequered flag. Although it’s a long race, we have to stay sharp for a long time, so it is a big challenge, but a challenge we like.”
Nakajima added that he enjoys the “family atmosphere” of a WEC paddock – which he said is one of the series’ biggest differences from F1.
“Compared to F1, WEC is much more of a family atmosphere,” he described. “The paddock is open to the public, and we are also very welcome to have many media and fans in the garage.
“I hope the people can experience this difference, and of course the race is much longer, so, at the same time, you have so many things you can still enjoy.
“It’s a different way to enjoy and both races have some good points.”
TGR’s #8 crew of Sebastien Buemi, Brednon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa were the winners in Bahrain last year.
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