TOYOTA Racing maintained its unbeaten record on home ground with a dominant one-two victory in the Six Hours of Fuji race which was held on October 12 during the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The team scored a third consecutive win in the event thanks to the #8 TS040 HYBRID of Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi, who extend their lead in the drivers’ World Championship.
Both cars finished one lap ahead of the opposition as TOYOTA regained the lead of the manufacturers’ World Championship. Its third win of the season puts the team eight points clear of the closest competitor. In the drivers’ standings, Anthony and Sébastien lead by 26 points over team-mate Nicolas Lapierre, who missed the Fuji race for personal reasons.
Starting from pole, Sébastien in the #8 initially slipped to third in the first corners before hitting back and, helped by the 1,000PS four-wheel-drive TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing, retaking the lead within the opening lap. Kazuki was also involved in the battle and ultimately gained a position to move into third. Sébastien returned to the cockpit of the #8 just before half distance while Alex took the wheel of the #7 to continue the TS040 HYBRID dominance. Anthony and Kazuki returned for further stints, with Stéphane taking over the #7 in the last hour as Anthony remained in the cockpit to take the chequered flag and a very popular one-two in front of 51,000 Japanese fans over the weekend.
Racing resumes for WEC next month with a hectic climax to the year, starting on 2 November with the Six Hours of Shanghai prior to the season-closing races in Bahrain and Sao Paulo.
