Home Hat-Trick for Toyota Racing at Fuji
TOYOTA Racing maintained its unbeaten record on home ground with a dominant one-two victory in the 6 Hours of Fuji, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
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.
A perfect day for the team saw the #7, winner in Fuji for the past two seasons, finish close behind in second, with Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima at the wheel.
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 Audi.
For the full story, plus quotes from the drivers go to the team's website HERE
Podium finish and fourth place for the Porsche 919 Hybrid
The Porsche Team celebrated its second podium finish of the season for the Porsche 919 Hybrid, while the sister car finished fourth in the six-hour race at Fuji, Japan. The fifth out of eight rounds of the FIA Endurance World Championship was a straightforward and dry race.
Drivers Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber finished third with car number 20. They were followed by their teammates Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb in car number 14. Furthermore, Mark Webber set the fastest overall race lap on the 4.563 km long Fuji Speedway (1:27.759 minutes on lap 12).
Comments from all Porsche’s drivers and team principals, plus more details about the race are available HERE
Audi maintains its challenge for WEC title in Japan
Round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship marked the end of a superb string of results for Audi. Following two consecutive one-two victories and a total of five podium results since May, Audi Sport Team Joest had to settle for positions five and six at Fuji. As a result, the battle for the World Championship is intensifying as the lead of the standings has changed again three races before the end of the season. Audi, as the runner-up in the manufacturers’ classification, now trail Toyota by just 8 points, continues to maintain its challenge.
For the third time in succession, Audi is set on winning the WEC title. In pursuit of this aim, the squad from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm scored 18 points in Japan in difficult conditions and remains within striking distance of the top. On the 4.563-kilometer circuit south-west of Tokyo that with its combination of a long start-finish straight and a narrow last sector that primarily rewards race cars with extremely powerful hybrid systems, Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen (BR/F/DK) managed to improve from grid position six to fifth place. A well-balanced driving performance and a favorably timed third pit stop in a yellow period helped them to do so.
The full story of Audi’s race, plus driver quotes can be found by clicking HERE
Belicchi, Kraihamer, Leimer win in LMP1-L at Fuji in a 1-2 for Rebellion Racing
Andrea Belicchi, Dominik Kraihamer and Fabio Leimer secured their first LMP1-L win of the season after the 6 Hours of Fuji, the fifth round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche finished second for the first one-two this season for REBELLION Racing.
At the start of the race, the two Rebellion R-One Toyotas #12 and #13 battled for the lead, with Mathias Beche in #12 and Dominik Kraihamer in #13. The #12 Rebellion R-One Toyota led during the first stint then #13 took the leading position after the first round of pitstops.
Car #12 faced issues with sensors and had to stop in the garage for a thorough inspection by the mechanics and the engineers. With several laps lost, car #12 was no longer a contender for the win, so the team decided to use the remainder of the race as a test to explore different set-up options and improve the development of the Rebellion R-One with Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost.
More details about Rebellion Racing's race can be found HERE
