Hartley and co-drivers Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa drove to a close second place behind sister car in the season finale , #7 GR010 Hybrid which was enough to ensure the driver’s Championship 2022 and Toyota Gazoo Racing also claimed the Hypercar title.
Outgoing World Champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López took a hard-earned win at the FIA WEC season finale at Bahrain this weekend, but couldn’t match the consistency of the #8 GR010 Hybrid piloted by Kiwi and Giltrap Group supported driver, Bredon Hartley and codrivers, Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa. It’s been a dream season for Hartley who also took his third 24 Hour Le Mans victory during the WEC Championship this year.
It was a championship that went down to the wire and the #8 car had started the weekend level on points with their Alpine title rivals, but Hartley, along with his driving partners were not going to be denied the Championship at Bahrain. They followed the storming #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid home to finish second, locking in the drivers’ World Champions, adding to their 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours win from earlier this year.
Sébastien and Brendon both enter the record books as the first drivers to win three titles in the top category of WEC or its predecessor, the World Sportscar Championship. While Ryo cements himself as a strong talent, capping a remarkable rookie season by becoming Japan’s third ever WEC champion.
The One-two finish was also a perfect result for Toyota Gazoo Racing, which now has a fifth world title double from just 10 years of WEC competition, adding to a roll of honour in 2022 which includes a fifth consecutive Le Mans win and eighth victory at Fuji Speedway.
Success in WEC ensures Toyota Gazoo Racing achieves the unique feat of winning every available title, eight in total, in the three FIA series it participated in this season: the World Endurance, World Rally and World Rally Raid Championships.
The race began under bright Bahraini sunshine and the on-track action was equally hot. Just six seconds covered the top three when the opening pit stops arrived after an hour, a full course yellow allowed both GR010 Hybrids to swap drivers. Brendon took over the #8 and battled with fellow Toyota Gazoo driver, Mike Conway in the #7 car throughout their first stint, separated by less than a second until Mike took the lead early in the fourth hour as the sun set over Bahrain International Circuit.
Further driver changes with 45 minutes to go left Mike to take the chequered flag, finishing 45.471secs clear of Brendon in the #8. That triggered title celebrations to bring the curtain down on an exciting Hypercar season after 58 hours of competition covering 10,620km since the first race in Sebring eight months ago.
Following an impressive open wheel career Brendon Hartley is proud of his achievements in the demanding WEC category.
“I am really pleased to complete the job here and win both World Championships. I don’t think it has really sunk in yet that we are champions again, but I’m sure it will soon. Thanks to everyone on the team for their fantastic support all year to give us a car to win the title and Le Mans. Today our objective was simply to beat Alpine and secure the title; we couldn’t afford to take any risks just to get the race win. Car #7 had the pace and deserved the victory, so well done to them. They have been tough competitors all year and it has been fiercely fought, also with Alpine who kept us honest. We worked hard for this title and it is a credit to the whole team.” Said Hartley.
