WEC – Cruel disappointment for Toyota in Shanghai

Toyota a connu une cruelle déception aux 6 Heures de Shanghai où les deux TS030 avaient l’avantage face aux R18 e-tron quattro qui étaient en difficulté avec leur système hybride dans les virages lents du tracé chinois. Alors que les deux équipages du constructeur nippon étaient en lutte pour la victoire, la n°8 de Stéphane Sarrazin, Sébastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson retired following a broken suspension. “It’s a very big disappointment for all of us”, comments the Briton. “It's rare to have a race almost won from the start, and we were still in control of the situation even after the puncture on the No. 7. For my part, I was in a good position and when I braked in turn 6, something gave way in the suspension. I returned to the pit but unfortunately the repair was not possible. It's a big disappointment. We should have won this race, in all fairness. Sometimes motorsport is cruel and today was a perfect illustration of that. »

The sister car driven by Nicolas lapierre and Alex Wurz also experienced setbacks when she was slowed down by a puncture. “At the start of the event, we thought we were in an excellent position because we had a good lead, plus we knew we were doing well in terms of consumption”, commented Nicolas Lapierre. “Then we had this puncture at the start of the lap and it cost us a lot of time to get back to the pits. Unfortunately, it's a race. It is certainly our best race in terms of pure performance but it was not enough to take the victory. We only have the Bahrain race left to win. » Alex Wurz failed to maintain the advantage over the No. 1 Audi of Tréluyer-Fässler-Lotterer by leaving control of the race to his rival half an hour from the finish. “The race was disappointing. During the last stint, we did not have the right tires, because of this puncture which forced us to use an additional set of tires, which was not planned. From then on, I knew it was going to be very difficult for us. I also hoped that the track temperature would drop more quickly. I knew it was going to be tricky until the finish and I was unable to keep the #1 Audi behind me. It's the race. »

Discover the analysis of the 6 Hours of Shanghai carried out by our special correspondent in issue 1935 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.