Toyota clinch podium finish in Texas
#8 TS050 Hybrid finish third
Toyota #8 TS050 Hybrid and #7 TS050 Hybrid at the 2017 WEC in Texas.
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: Toyota GAZOO Racing secured a podium finish in the sixth round of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), held at the ‘Circuit of the Americas’ in Texas, United States. The #8 TS050 Hybrid, led by crew Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima, finished third at the end of 1,058km of fierce racing.
The #7 TS050 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López crossed the chequered flag seconds after the #8 to take the fourth spot.
Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said, “The 5.5-km race track in Texas is a tough challenge for even the best drivers in the world. The Toyota teams competed fiercely; I am proud of their achievement and congratulate them for their well-deserved podium finish. Racing events such as the WEC put our people and cars to the ultimate test, providing us with learnings and invaluable insights that inspire our thoughts and efforts in making ‘ever-better’ cars. I also take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to fans across the world who cheer for our teams.”
Hisatake Murata, Team President, said, “The team worked very hard to recover from a disappointing qualifying, and I am pleased that we could challenge the other competing teams and give the fans an exciting race. Everyone could see our fighting spirit today, so thank you to the team for their big effort; we had a good strategy, quick pit stops and tough racing from the drivers in the difficult, hot conditions.
Congratulations to the winning team on their victory. Even though we are disappointed not to win, today’s performance gives us a lot of encouragement for our home race; we will go to Fuji Speedway aiming for the middle of the podium.”
The #8 TS050 Hybrid, with Sébastien Buemi in the driving seat, started strong by taking the second spot towards the end of the second lap. Mike Conway followed suit by driving the #7 TS050 Hybrid and ensuring that the Toyota cars were in a strong position right at the outset.
WEC regulations required the teams to change drivers at each stint due to the hot weather. Hence, the first pit stop saw Kazuki Nakajima and José María López get behind the wheels, and both cars proceeded without a tire change.
Kazuki led the race from the #7 after one hour, but José, using soft compound tires unlike the sister car, suffered higher degradation, and slipped to fourth despite fighting wheel to wheel over two laps with competitor car #1.
At the next round of pit stops, when Stéphane and Kamui took over, new tires of the same compound were fitted to both cars, which handed the lead back to a competitor car, courtesy of its shorter fuel-only pit stops. Kamui’s impressive stint saw him pass Stéphane for third and eliminate the gap to competitor car #2.
On the three-hour mark, after another driver change and refueling stop for both cars, a 10-minute safety car period for barrier repairs brought all four LMP1 cars together at the front, with Mike in second and Sébastien third.
When the race restarted, the #7 and #8 TS050 Hybrids, running on used tires, were facing competitor car #2 on new rubber. Mike dropped to fourth while Sébastien temporarily defended his second place until the next pit stops when the #8 car slipped to third.
With two hours still to go, the drivers kept the pressure on the competitor cars, despite the uncomfortable heat, but ultimately the leaders proved just out of reach with Kazuki and Kamui taking the chequered flag in third and fourth, respectively.
The Toyota teams will now assess their past performances in the run-up to their home race at Fuji Speedway on October 13th, 2017. Race Notes:
TS050 Hybrid #8 (Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin, Kazuki Nakajima) Race: 3rd, 192 laps, 6 pit stops Grid: 3rd Fastest lap: 1 min 47.556 secs TS050 Hybrid #7 (Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, José María López) Race: 4th, 192 laps, 6 pit stops Grid: 4th Fastest lap: 1 min 47.391 secs