The team has an exceptional record in Bahrain, having won the last eight races, and it goes into Saturday’s race determined to end a challenging campaign with a return to the podium. After disappointing recent results, qualifying saw a significant improvement thanks to a determined effort from the team and its drivers.
Kamui Kobayashi earned the team’s first pole of 2025 with a lap of one minute 46.826 seconds in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries. Brendon Hartley was just 0.151secs behind in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa to complete the one-two.
Kamui warmed up for qualifying by setting the second-fastest time in final practice – just 0.012secs off the best lap – to already raise expectations. Kamui and Brendon, last year’s pole-sitter in Bahrain, took part in qualifying for the fourth time this year.
The green flag flew as the sun set on a warm evening at Bahrain International Circuit, with air temperatures of 28°C and track temperatures noticeably lower than in final practice. The two GR010 HYBRIDs set their only flying laps relatively early in the session. Kamui confirmed the team’s free practice promise by finishing third with Brendon a strong fifth, to qualify both cars in Hyperpole for just the second time in 2025.
In Hyperpole, Kamui and Brendon upped the pace. They were among the first competitors to record a quick time and immediately took the top spots. As the minutes counted down, both GR010 HYBRIDs headed to the pits but none of the remaining Hypercars could match the GR010 HYBRIDs.
They will therefore lead the field away when Saturday’s race starts in daylight at 2pm local time (midday CET). The eight-hour contest will run into the night for a spectacular finale to a dramatic WEC season.
Kamui Kobayashi (Driver, car #7): “I am very happy to be on pole again. It’s the result of a great job and a big effort from the team. We have had a tough season so far, so I am very proud that we could turn it around and get a one-two today. Everyone pushed very hard for this but tomorrow is another day and we know it will not be easy. Our target is to win. We are well prepared, and it should be an exciting race.”
Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “A very nice qualifying from the whole team. We are very pleased with the performance. I did a pretty tidy lap, although there were a couple of small mistakes and I was a bit conservative in places. Kamui nailed it and pipped me to pole. I was desperate to get it but congratulations to him. I am happy to start from the front row, which gives the best possible chance of finishing on the podium.”
8 Hours of Bahrain – Qualifying
1st #007 Aston Martin THOR (Tincknell/Gamble/Gunn) 1min 47.290secs
2nd #009 Aston Martin THOR (Riberas/Sorensen/De Angelis) +0.131secs
3rd #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.210secs
4th #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Jensen/Vergne) +0.353secs
5th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.546secs
6th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen) +0.582secs ...
8 Hours of Bahrain – Hyperpole
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 46.826secs
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.151secs
3rd #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Duval/Jakobsen/Pourchaire) +0.340secs
4th #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Jensen/Vergne) +0.382secs
5th #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +0.717secs
6th #009 Aston Martin THOR (Riberas/Sorensen/De Angelis) +0.798secs
Official results will be published on http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/
