One-two WEC home victory for Toyota Gazoo Racing

MANILA: Toyota Gazoo Racing celebrated the return of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) to Japan in grand style by winning the 6 Hours of Fuji in a clean one-two finish.

In addition to their success at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa drove flawlessly to victory in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid at Fuji Speedway, the team's eighth victory in nine races overall.

In the penultimate round of the 2022 WEC season, world champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José Mara López finished second in their #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, finishing 1 minute, 8.382 seconds back.

With maximum points from its home race, Toyota Gazoo Racing moved 26 points ahead of Alpine, who finished third at Fuji, in the manufacturers' standings. The #8 crew is now tied for first place in the drivers' standings going into the final event.

Another enthusiastic crowd filled the Fuji Speedway grandstands to watch Kamui, who started in pole position #7, take the lead of the field. As the GR010 Hybrid led the way from the start of the race, Kamui opened up a narrow advantage over Sébastien in the #8.

During the first hour, which came to a finish with both pitting for two fresh tires and additional fuel, there were only a few seconds separating the two. In the #7 car, Kamui kept the lead, but Sébastien was steadily narrowing the gap and took over on lap 64.

Kamui turned over the second-placed #7 to José as the two-hour mark drew near. After finishing a circuit, Brendon seized the wheel of the #8 and continued with a 6-second advantage over the second-place Alpine.

Brendon started to establish a comfortable lead at the front and increased it to 10 seconds over José at the next pit stops, which happened halfway through the race. With just under two hours left, when the next driver switch occurred, Brendon had a commanding 30-second lead.

As Mike took over for José in the #7 for the final stretch, Ryo, who had already won at Fuji Speedway this season in Super Formula, took the wheel of the #8. The Toyota GR010 Hybrid maintained control of the race's last circuit with a one-lap lead over the third-place Alpine while avoiding excessive risks.

Ryo grabbed the checkered flag after 232 laps without the aid of a safety car or a full course yellow, giving Toyota Gazoo Racing their third victory of the year and 37th overall in the 75 WEC races powered by hybrid technology since 2012. The team's second one-two of the year was completed when Mike came in 1 minute, 8.382 seconds later.

“The 6 Hours of Fuji is a very important race and this is the best possible result for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. Everybody in the team worked so hard for this and did a great job, with no mistakes; I am very proud of everyone,” TGR WEC Team Principal and Race Driver Kamui Kobayashi expressed.

“The competition is intense in Hypercar but our race went really smoothly. We had a strong performance, which is a result of the big effort from the team, as well as great support from the Toyota family and all our partners.

Thank you to the fans who cheered for us; it has been a fantastic experience to race here at Fuji Speedway again, especially in such brilliant weather. This part of our job is done but now we focus on Bahrain, where we are pushing to win both World Championships. This is important for us so we will keep our focus and do our best.”

As a result, the battle for both World Championships will be decided at the season's last race on November 12 at Bahrain International Circuit.

Photos from Toyota Gazoo Racing

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