Pace and promise goes unrewarded in Bahrain

Ben Barnicoat signed off his 2025 competitive campaign with the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain. Back with Akkodis ASP Team, Ben and his teammates, Arnold Robin and Finn Gehrsitz, looked in a strong position, claiming the final LM GT3 Hyperpole of the season for the 8 Hours of Bahrain. However, a technical issue in the second hour would prove terminal, and brought the season to a premature conclusion.

The early sessions of the weekend looked extremely positive, with the #78 Lexus RC F GT3 firmly in contention. Each of the three practice sessions ended with Ben and his teammates among the top-3 runners. Arnold took to the track for the opening qualifying session, looking to progress into the final Hyperpole shootout of the year. He achieved this comfortably, ending the session P2 in the standings. This set the scene for Finn to challenge for pole position, and Ben’s German teammate delivered a faultless run to secure an impressive pole position for the season finale.

The 8 Hours of Bahrain got underway in warm conditions, and Arnold took the start, leading into turn 1. From here, the #78 held the lead and began to build a lead at the front of the field throughout the opening hour. At the first stop, Arnold remain in the car and the team were still fighting at the front of the field. However, during the second hour, technical issues with the car’s telemetry system came to light. Just before the two hour mark, this system failed, preventing data being relayed to the FIA, pmeaning the team were unable to rejoin the race and bringing an early end to the season for Ben and his teammates.

Summarising the season finale weekend, Ben explained:

“The highs and lows of motorsport in one weekend ! Our pace had been great all weekend, and we looked like we had a real chance of a strong result to sign off the season. the Akkodis ASP Team guys had given us a great car, and Arnold and Finn did a fantastic job during qualifying to secure the final Hyperpole of the year. It felt hugely deserved after the effort everyone has put into this programme across the year. The race started well, and we looked to be in a good place, but the technical issue would ultimately end things for us. Just one of those things you can’t predict, unfortunately. A huge congratulations to the #87 crew for taking the LM GT3 win, and to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for the 1-2 finish in Hypercar. While it was a disappointing end to our efforts, it's as great to be a part of such a strong result.

“And finally, a huge thank you to everyone at Akkodis ASP Team and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for, not only this opportunity to compete in the FIA WEC this season, but for all their support while I was absent due to my injury earlier this season.”