Policand: "Hugely satisfying" — ASP Lexus converted their pole to second WEC win at Bahrain

The No.87 drivers and Jérôme Policand celebrating their victory of the 8 Hours of Bahrain | Credit: DPPI

Auto Sport Promotion (ASP) Lexus ended their sophomore season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a pole position that turned out to be their second WEC LMGT3 victory during the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The Lexus RC F GT3 looked to be strong during the free practice session and looked very competitive during qualifying and Hyperpole. At the hands of Finn Gehrsitz, the No.78 car achieved its second pole position, while Clemens Schmid took the No.87 car to fourth place.

Arnold Robin and Petru Umbrărescu were the starting drivers for the No.78 and No.87 cars, respectively. Robin had a good start and began to pull away from the field as Umbrărescu positioned his car in the Top 3.

However, the No.78's fine run at the front came to an abrupt end after the telemetry system that feeds real-time data to the FIA failed before the third hour. As a result, the car was no longer allowed to rejoin the race.

The No.78 drivers celebrating their pole position during the Hyperpole | Credit: DPPI

Meanwhile, Schmid in the No.87 car hunted down the No.61 Iron Lynx-Mercedes before passing his rival near the second-hour mark. The Austrian never looked back, and the car began to dominate the LMGT3 pack.

The No.87 endured constant pressure from the other cars during the race, but perfectly executed pit stops and strong lap times allowed it to be 30 seconds ahead of the No.61 car at one point.

The deployment of safety cars eliminated the advantage the team had, forcing them to start again. The team regrouped and rose to the occasion with the No.87 car staying out in front of the field.

José María López drove the final stint of the season. The 42-year-old veteran maintained his focus as a safety car deployment with 30 minutes remaining put the No.27 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin directly on his tail.

The No.87 car leading the race during the night stages | Credit: DPPI

López eventually took the victory ahead of the No.61 and the No.27 cars. The victory was razor-thin, with the No.87 finishing ahead of the Mercedes by only 0.786 seconds after eight hours and 216 laps of battle.

The victory is ASP, Lexus and the No.87's second victory in the WEC, after their first at the previous 6 Hours of São Paulo round. To stand on top of the podium is a validation of the team's progress and solidifies their status as LMGT3's top contenders.

Team Principal Jérôme Policand said: "Finishing the season with a pole position and a victory is hugely satisfying.

"For the second time, we have been able to capitalise on the momentum we have built up throughout the year.

"Finishing on the championship podium is a reward for all the hard work and commitment, as well as the passion of the entire team and the drivers for their discipline."

The team can be proud of what they have achieved this year, as the No.87 car finished the 2025 campaign in third of the LMGT3 Teams championship with 95 points, while the No.78 car finished ninth with 51 points to their name.