(MENAFNEditorial) TOYOTA Racing took its second consecutive one-two victory, winning the Six Hours of Shanghai race on November 2nd, 2014 by more than a lap to extend its lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi took a dominant win in the #8 TS040 HYBRID, their fourth of the season, to stretch their lead in the drivers' World Championship to 42 points.
The 1,000PS four-wheel-drive TS040 HYBRID, which dominated the last round in Fuji, was once again in a class of its own with Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima taking second place in the #7. That gives TOYOTA a 29-point advantage in the manufacturers' World Championship with two races remaining.
Commenting on this impressive win, Dr. Adel Muhammad Ezzat, Managing Director of Marketing at Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ), authorized distributor of Toyota brands in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: "On behalf of everyone ALJ, I congratulate the entire Toyota racing team and support staff on this thrilling victory in Shanghai.
"From a technical standpoint, the TS040 hybrid car again proved its racing credentials reinforcing Toyota's developmental capabilities in hybrid cars. Participation in such races allows Toyota to use the races as a test bed to refine advanced hybrid technologies and monitor performance, which in turn helps Toyota push mainstream hybrid car development to new frontiers."
On this occasion, Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President said: "This is the result we have all worked hard for, so thank you to everyone in the team; the pit crew, drivers and engineers who did a great job, particularly on tyre management. The car was quick straight out of the box here in Shanghai. We were disappointed to miss the pole position by such a tiny margin, but the big job was the actual race itself. It's exactly the result we wanted for the World Championship and puts us in a strong position for the remaining races. Now we want to keep this momentum in Bahrain and Sao Paulo."
Adding his comments, driver Sébastien Buemi said: "I'm really happy because this is a good step towards the championship. It makes the win even sweeter when it's a one-two; it's the best result we could imagine. The team performed really well, as did Anthony. All in all it was a very good race and the car worked well from beginning to end. It's our third one-two this season, after Fuji and Silverstone, so now I can't wait for Bahrain. Hopefully we can keep going like this."
The race started in bright sunshine, with Sébastien and Alex retaining second and fourth positions respectively during the first corners before an accident at the rear of the field brought out the safety car. When racing resumed, Sébastien battled past the front runners and into the lead by the time he handed over to Anthony, who resumed ahead. Alex was close behind and made two decisive overtaking moves to move from fourth to second. A smooth race continued and, as the 100-lap milestone approached, Sébastien returned to the wheel of the #8, by now holding a healthy advantage over the #7. While Sébastien continued for a second stint in the #8, Stéphane handed the #7 to Kazuki with more smooth pit stops helping to maintain TOYOTA Racing's control of the race. By the time Sébastien swapped with Anthony for the final time, the #8 held a one-lap lead over all cars except the second-place #7. That left Anthony and Kazuki to bring the cars home for the team's third one-two finish of the season.
The battle for the World Championship now moves into the final stages with just two races remaining, in Bahrain on 15 November and Sao Paulo on 30 November.
Race Notes:
• TS040 HYBRID #8 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi)
o Race: 1st position, 188 laps, 7 pit stops. Fastest lap: 1min 48.694secs
• TS040 HYBRID #7 (Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin, Kazuki Nakajima)
o Race: 2nd position, 188 laps, 6 pit stops. Fastest lap: 1min
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