TOYOTA GAZOO Racing roars its way to victory in Le Mans 24 Hours
Toyota grabs second 1-2 victory at 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship
KUWAIT CITY, July 10: Bolstering up its reputation for consistent performance, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has grabbed its second onetwo victory at the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. In a tightly fought race held recently, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing won the 86th Le Mans 24 Hours, to take its first-ever victory in the endurance event.
Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Fernando Alonso in the #8 TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) started from pole position and took the chequered flag after 388 tense and often dramatic laps at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France to extend their lead in the championship.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez, who led for long periods in the #7 TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicle, made it a perfect result for Toyota with second place in front of 256,900 fans.
The result is a culmination of intense and determined efforts by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing colleagues from Higashi-Fuji and Cologne to continually enhance its hybrid-electric technology, which won this race using 35% less fuel than in 2012 when it returned to endurance racing.
Commenting on the win, Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “Thank you for driving all out! — Please let me direct these words to our drivers, who drove our cars for the longest distance at Le Mans, finally in our 20th challenge. At the same time, I would like to say the same to our cars, completing 388 laps, approximately 5,300 km. And thank you very much for letting us and our drivers drive all out! — I want to say this to all fans who have supported us for a long time, our partners, and suppliers who have battled together with us, and all the team members and the people related to our team. I want to express my sincere appreciation to all.”
Hisatake Murata, Team President, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, said: “I am so proud of everyone in the team for this result. It has been our dream to win Le Mans, and finally, we have achieved it. Thank you so much to everyone for their incredible hard work, team spirit, and never-give-up attitude. To win Le Mans for Toyota after so many frustrations and disappointments is a truly magical moment.”
The two TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicles were evenly matched throughout the 5,286-km race and swapped places several times during the event, which featured its share of drama for the leaders.
Two stop-go penalties for the #8 car, compared to one for the sister car, required an impressive nighttime stint from Fernando Alonso to come back into contention on a day when all drivers performed exceptionally in a high-pressure environment.
A late fuel issue dropped the #7 car off the lead lap, so Kazuki Nakajima took the chequered flag for the #8 car with a lead of two laps. The #3 rival car finished third, 12 laps behind.
After a nine-week break, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will return to action on 17-19 August with the 6 Hours of Silverstone, the third round of the 2018-19 WEC season.
TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicle #8 (Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Fernando Alonso) Position: 1st No. of Laps: 388 Best Lap: 3’17.658 TS050 Hybrid Electric Vehicle #7 (Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José María López) Position: 2nd No. of Laps: 386 Best Lap: 3’17.980