TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earns World Championship

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing secured the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) teams’ title in a dramatic and weather-affected Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the penultimate round of the 2018-2019 season.

Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso in the #8 TS050 HYBRID extended their lead in the drivers’ standings to 31 points with one race and 39 points remaining after their fourth win of a season which began with victory at Spa 12 months ago.

The #7 TS050 HYBRID crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López had controlled the race until just before half distance, setting the fastest lap as well, but then lost 11 minutes due to a sensor issue which dropped them to sixth at the end.

History was made in the opening laps when heavy snow hit Spa just a few minutes after the start; the first time that snow has affected a WEC race. Remarkably, racing continued for almost 30 minutes until conditions forced a safety car with Mike leading having started from pole position in the #7.

After 25 minutes, and now in bright sunshine, the race resumed with Mike leading from the #3 Rebellion. Sébastien, who had lost time in his pit stop, immediately took second place for the #8 and then moved into the lead at the end of lap 19.