It was a long time coming but at 39 years of age Webber clinched his maiden crown of any kind in a nail-biting end to the World Endurance Championship.
The triumph was belated but just reward for Webber through his long professional career which has now been punctuated with a title that remained in the balance until the chequered flag unfurled.
After calling time on his F1 career which netted nine grand prix victories at the end of 2013, Webber climbed to the peak of prototype racing in Porsche's 919 outfit.
The victory alongside team-mates Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard was fraught with a tense rollercoaster ride in the finale in Bahrain as the 919 experienced engine issues throughout the six hour journey.
Webber was at the wheel for the final stint with the car wheeled into the garage for a lengthy stop with just over one hour remaining.
There were more tense moments to come when the engine lost power several times in the run to the finish.
Going into the race with a 13-point buffer, Webber overcame tremendous pressure to guide a wounded 919 over the line and seal the crown by five points from chief rivals Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer in the #7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.
Fifth place was enough for the #17 Porsche to clinch the WEC crown over the Audi which finished second behind the #18 Porsche of Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas.
Gracious in victory, Webber acknowledged the enormous hurdles the team faced after a season of 66 hours of racing.
“We had some issues we had to manage through the race. The engine actuator was playing up a lot,” Webber said.
“Typically that just shows the fighting qualities of the team. In our second year we a hard day today, a real hard day.
“It was very high maintenance in the pit stops and it was all about management for me.
“There was a lot to keep an eye on so it was super stressful.
“Timo and Brendon did an awesome job as well.
“I think we out-punched Audi as well in the end.
“It was such a hard fought race. The gloves were off and I think #7 (Audi) ran out of a bit of puff as well.”
“Thank god we got our car home. It wasn't the cleanest day but we had enough points and enough wins this year to be world champions.”
RESULT: Bahrain 6 Hours
1 |
R.Dumas/N.Jani/M.Lieb |
Porsche |
199 |
6:00:52.8s |
2 |
M.Fässler/A.Lotterer/B.Tréluyer |
Audi |
199 |
1:25.310 |
3 |
A.Wurz/S.Sarrazin/M.Conway |
Toyota |
196 |
3 Laps |
4 |
A.Davidson/S.Buemi/K.Nakajima |
Toyota |
196 |
3 Laps |
5 |
T.Bernhard/M.Webber/B.Hartley |
Porsche |
190 |
9 Laps |
6 |
L.di Grassi/L.Duval/O.Jarvis |
Audi |
188 |
11 Laps |
7 |
R.Rusinov/J.Canal/S.Bird |
Ligier/Nissan |
183 |
16 Laps |
8 |
M.Howson/R.Bradley/N.Tandy |
ORECA/Nissan |
183 |
16 Laps |
9 |
G.Yacamán/L.Derani/R.González |
Ligier/Nissan |
182 |
17 Laps |
10 |
N.Panciatici/P-L.Chatin/T.Dillmann |
Alpine/Nissan |
182 |
17 Laps |
11 |
A.Imperatori/D.Kraihamer/M.Tuscher |
Rebellion/AER |
181 |
18 Laps |
12 |
S.Trummer/P.Kaffer |
CLM/AER |
180 |
19 Laps |
13 |
M.Aleshin/N.Minassian/D.Markozov |
BR Engineering/Nissan |
179 |
20 Laps |
14 |
N.Prost/M.Beche |
Rebellion/AER |
179 |
20 Laps |
15 |
N.Leventis/D.Watts/J.Kane |
Gibson/Nissan |
178 |
21 Laps |
16 |
P.Ragues/O.Webb/C.Cumming |
Morgan/SARD |
177 |
22 Laps |
17 |
S.Sharp/R.Dalziel/D.Hansson |
Ligier/HPD |
176 |
23 Laps |
18 |
P.Pilet/F.Makowiecki |
Porsche |
173 |
26 Laps |
19 |
G.Bruni/T.Vilander |
Ferrari |
173 |
26 Laps |
20 |
E.Brown/J.van Overbeek/J.Fogarty |
Ligier/HPD |
173 |
26 Laps |
21 |
D.Turner/J.Adam |
173 |
26 Laps |
|
22 |
C.Nygaard/M.Sørensen/N.Thiim |
173 |
26 Laps |
|
23 |
R.Lietz/M.Christensen |
Porsche |
172 |
27 Laps |
24 |
D.Rigon/J.Calado |
Ferrari |
172 |
27 Laps |
25 |
A.MacDowall/F.Rees/R.Stanaway |
Aston Martin |
171 |
28 Laps |
26 |
P.D.Lana/P.Lamy/M.Lauda |
Aston Martin |
170 |
29 Laps |
27 |
M.Mapelli/K.Al Qubaisi/K.Bachler |
Porsche |
170 |
29 Laps |
28 |
C.Ried/P.Long/M.Seefried |
Porsche |
170 |
29 Laps |
29 |
F.Perrodo/E.Collard/M.Cressoni |
Ferrari |
169 |
30 Laps |
30 |
V.Shaitar/A.Bertolini/A.Basov |
Ferrari |
169 |
30 Laps |
31 |
G.Roda/P.Ruberti/K.Poulsen |
Chevrolet |
169 |
30 Laps |
32 |
F.Castellacci/R.Goethe/S.Hall |
Aston Martin |
168 |
31 Laps |
DRIVERS STANDINGS
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