Bahrain 8H - Last race with Toyota for Kazuki Nakajima

Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced the end of its collaboration with Kazuki Nakajima following the final race of the season, the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Published on 03/11/2021 à 10:39

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Bahrain 8H – Last race with Toyota for Kazuki Nakajima

Kazuki Nakajima will no longer drive for Toyota in the WEC (© François Flamand / DPPI)

The end of an era Toyota. At 36, the three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2018/2019/2020, XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX, XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX), Kazuki Nakajima, will no longer be a TGR driver after the 8 Hours of Bahrain on Saturday. A member of the Japanese team since 2012, he also won the World Championship during the 2018-2019 super season. With his teammates Sébastien Buemi et Brendon Hartley, the native of Okazaki, in Aichi prefecture (where the city of Toyota is located), can claim a second world crown in what will be his last race in WEC. To do this, the trio will have to erase the 15 points behind the sister car trio: Mike conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria López.

“It has been an honor to compete for Toyota GAZOO Racing for nine seasons and I feel so lucky to have won races, championships and the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside so many talented, passionate and dedicated colleagues, said the Japanese pilot. I would like to express my greatest thanks to Toyota GAZOO Racing for this 10-year journey in the WEC. I have so many memories with this team, who have been a family to me in both difficult times and happy times, and I will always feel like a member of the team. A new era is coming for endurance racing, with many Hypercar manufacturers in the coming years, and it will be a new era for me. I will continue to support the team and look forward to the start of an exciting new period. for endurance races. »

The team will reveal its 2022 driver line-up in the coming weeks. An opportunity for Sébastien Ogier, who will participate in Rookie Day on Sunday, the day after the WEC final? “We already have our drivers for next year. Everything is possible in the future, but the team is already set up for 2022. We discussed this first test, but not yet for the future. He needs to check if he likes it too”, assured us Pascal Vasselon, technical director of the TGR, in the Sakhir paddock.

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