Toyota and Porsche Directors praise title achievements
Key figures from both Toyota and Porsche have expressed gratitude to their respective manufacturers after wrapping up the LMP and GT Championships at the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.
Toyota Gazoo Racing sealed the 2018-2019 LMP1 World Endurance Championship after the No.8 Toyota TS 050 HYBRID driven by Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima took a fourth win of the WEC Super Season.
“We’re very happy,” proclaimed Rob Leupen, Team Director and TMG Vice President. “The team have done a great job. We have enjoyed it with the drivers and with Fernando joining us – they’ve done Toyota proud.”
“For us it started very well here at Spa last year and continued into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Now we would like to keep the momentum going for another race. We still have one championship to win and car No. 7 and car No. 8 will continue to fight for the Drivers’ Championship.”
Leupen is also looking forward to Toyota’s defence of the 24 Hours of Le Mans title it claimed last June.
“There’s a lot of competition in the team but in a very nice, fair way, and for Toyota, I think it has been an amazing season. Now, we focus on aiming for a second Le Mans victory,” he said.
Porsche also celebrated significant success as the marque took the 2018-19 World Endurance GTE Manufacturers’ Championship.
The points accrued after the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps saw them out of sight of their rivals with a huge 246 point haul and a 93-point advantage over their nearest competitors - Ferrari.
“If you look at the race - again it was a great battle on-track between all five manufacturers,” explained Pascal Zurlinden, Director of GT Factory Motorsports for Porsche.
He added: “Winning the championship is really hard with fights like this, especially with five manufacturers. We are feeling very proud.”
Zurlinden made sure to praise his staff both at the racetrack and back at the team’s base in Germany, concluding: “It’s a fact that the hard work back at the factory, from our team and from our drivers has resulted in this great achievement. After winning Le Mans last year, we are still looking forward to the next big race which is coming in a few weeks.”
The season-closing 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place from 15-16 June.
