WEC – “The perfect start to the season” for Toyota

While the LMP1 category has been marred by mechanical problems and accidents, Toyota Racing did not tremble despite the rainy conditions present yesterday at Silverstone and signed its first double in the first event of this new season. The Japanese manufacturer could not hope for a better result, especially since Audi completely missed out and left Great Britain without any points. “It was the perfect start to the season and I would like to thank the whole team for this first double for Toyota Racing,” comments Yoshiaki Kinoshita, the President of the team. “We worked very hard over the winter to prepare the TS040 Hybrid and this is a great reward. The weather was a real challenge, but the team remained attentive and made the right decisions regarding strategy. The whole team really deserved this result, but the fight is close with Audi and Porsche, so we have to continue working for the next race at Spa. »

The No. 8 Toyota Stone-Davidson-Buemi took the advantage over the No. 7 of Wurz-Sarrazin-Nakajima who was starting on pole when the rain arrived on the track. Sébastien Buemi took the lead in the race by being more comfortable on the track with intermediate tires compared to Alex Wurz who had opted for rain tires which were less effective in these conditions. The order will remain as is until the finish of the race, notably allowing Anthony Davidson to win at home. “It was a fantastic weekend and it's great to win this home race. The team did a fantastic job all weekend. In the dry it could have been a tough fight with Audi and Porsche but we knew the rain was coming and had prepared our car for wet conditions. We made the right choice of tires, the strategy was perfect, that's how you win races. It?s also very special to win the Tourist Trophy and the Richard Lloyd Trophy. It's a fantastic achievement and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. »

The crew of the sister car is in no way disconcerted by this second place since the Toyota TS040 Hybrid performed very well against the R18 e-tron quattro and other Porsche 919 Hybrids. “I am happy with the work accomplished today”, adds Kazuki Nakajima, the teammate. ?I attacked as much as possible given the conditions but when the gap reached more than a minute with the No. 8, I knew it would be difficult. It?s a great day for the team and a fantastic start to the season. We can be very proud of our first double. The whole team worked so hard for this. »

Discover the analysis of the 6 Hours of Silverstone carried out by our special correspondent in issue 1957 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.