Manama (AFP) - Australia's Mark Webber claimed the world endurance title on Saturday (Nov 21) after a fifth-place finish in the season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain race.

Porsche teammates Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Neel Jani won the race but it was not enough to deny 39-year-old Webber and co-drivers Timo Bernhard of Germany and New Zealander Brendon Hartley from sealing the title.

Webber had retired from Formula One in 2013 after 215 Grands Prix and nine wins.

His first win in the endurance series came at Nurburgring in Germany in August.

"It was super stressful but thank god we managed to get our car to the finish," said Webber.

His title hopes had looked doomed at one stage when Bernhard lost five laps due to a technical problem in the Porsche hybrid car.

"It was not a straightforward day, it was very tough but we had enough points and enough wins in the season to become world champions," added the Australian.