SAKHIR, Bahrain (November 7, 2025) TF Sport and its two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will look to race their way toward the front Saturday in search of another race win and championship in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Eight Hours of Bahrain.

Both of the yellow Corvettes missed out on the Hyperpole portion of LMGT3 qualifying Friday. The No. 33 Z06 GT3.R of Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and Daniel Juncadella winners to start the season in Qatar is the highest-starting of the two Corvettes and will start 11th in the 18-car class.
Keating missed advancing into Hyperpole for the 10 fastest qualifier by an eyelash 0.021 seconds around the 3.363-mile, 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit. Both Corvettes, as did the entire field, struggled with tire life and grip on the abrasive Bahrain circuit.

The six fastest qualifiers and eight of the top-10 in Q1 were in front-engine racecars that had a slight advantage in front-end grip and handling.
Tom Van Rompuy in the No. 81 Corvette was 14th in class as he and teammates Charlie Eastwood and Rui Andrade eye the fight for the LMGT3 championship.

The trio arrived at Bahrain third in points, one spot ahead of the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette, and needs at least a second-place finish and some luck to claim the class title.
Eastwood, Andrade and Van Rompuy won the most recent WEC race at Fuji in September and have finished on the podium in three of the last four races dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

There is continued hope in the TF Sport garage as both the Corvettes finished on the class podium a year ago at Bahrain.
The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. AST / 6 a.m. ET Saturday. Live-streaming will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the United States.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Thankfully, we made a big step forward from FP1 to FP2. FP1 was miserable. I wouldn’t say it was the tire or the track or the car; it was a combination of everything. We made a lot of changes for FP2 on the setup, and they were all great. I was very happy with that session.
In terms of the race, everyone is going to suffer during the day and in the first couple of hours.
As it gets dark and a bit colder, everything will feel nicer and I think we should be good.”

(Opening of the race) “Ben will probably have the hardest bit. Ultimately, I think the race will be decided at the end. But it depends.
Last year, there were some interventions toward the end of the race to make it a bit of a sprint to the finish.
This is a track that with the conditions and runoffs that there could not be many interventions. Then the first stints will be very important. Ben is an endurance beast. Even though he may have the toughest job in the heat, he will go through it. He’s very good.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“From my standpoint, given the fact that we can no longer win the championship or if I had been in the previous situation, there’s nothing else to play for. It’s all or nothing, and we’re racing for a win because that’s what we need to get second or third in the championship
. The 27 Aston Martin is only a few points behind, and the front-engine cars have been superfast all weekend.

The series has been nice to them based on previous history with the medium tire. This hard tire is just different. In previous years, the front-engine cars burned through the front-mediums because there was too much weight up there. Now the hard tire withstands that weight. They can do a better fast lap and when everyone’s tires fall off, they’re still quick.

“We know we have a perfect driver lineup and an excellent car. It will take some luck for sure. I do expect us to take some risks, maybe not do what we should do and gamble to get lucky for a win. There are lots of ways you can gamble and be really well-positioned if you have a safety car.
There are lots of other ways where you can gamble big and be really well-positioned if you don’t have a safety car. You have to choose one or the other. That’s what all the smart guys back in the garage are figuring out.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The hard thing about tracks like this is that you have to adapt a lot. Many of the Bronze guys have spent so much of their lives being told certain ways to brake, to turn and accelerate. That changes from the first lap to the fifth lap to the 20th lap.

That’s where we’re in a good place. Tom (Van Rompuy) and Ben (Keating) are very experienced racing drivers and have been doing it probably longer than I have. They’ve been in scenarios like this before, whereas there may be some fast Silvers and Bronzes who might can nail a maximum lap where here it’s about keeping calm, staying under the limit and trying not to slip the tire so you’ve got that extra life at the end of a double-stint.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We tried something that we thought would help us during the race, especially when it got a bit fresher. Obviously, it wasn’t that much of a good choice. Maybe it will be in the race, but on one lap we seem to be missing something. On my side, not the best run I’ve ever had. Hopefully we have a really good racecar and can climb a few positions in the race.”

(On the championship) “Obviously we are going to fight to win it. This will be a tough mission, but we never give up. Let’s see. It’s an eight-hour race and if we can keep it clean then I think we might have a chance. You never know on the strategy or if we can have a bit of luck on our side.

“Since Le Mans, we have taken a really strong jump by finishing on the podium in almost every race and winning in Fuji, which got us to third in the championship. With that success, we’re carrying a bit of weight for this last race. The good thing is that the surrounding contenders are on similar weights. I’m curious to see what that brings. We never give up, and we’ll fight to the line.”

(Building momentum throughout the season) “The potential has always been in the car and in the team. Last year we had some hiccups and the reliability wasn’t always on point… just some small things. We’ve all made a wonderful step there, so that’s No. 1.
There has also been really good execution as well from the team and the drivers. From the driver side, we don’t take penalties and doing everything the team asks at the point it’s needed.
Also, excellent execution by the team on the pitstops and strategy. It is a mix of all these things together which put us in the position we are in this weekend.”