Toyota: Farewell to a winning car 🎥
WEC FINALE IN BAHRAIN The last World Endurance Championship round in Bahrain on Saturday is also the last for the Toyota TS050 Hybrid. Sébastien Buemi can become world champion with the fastest sports car of the present. As the sun sets in Bahrain, the 2019/20 WEC (World Endurance Championship) and the era of LMP1 cars also comes to an end. Since its debut four [...]
As the sun sets in Bahrain, the 2019/20 WEC (World Endurance Championship) and the era of LMP1 cars also comes to an end.
Since its debut four years ago, when Audi (exit at the end of 2016) and Porsche (exit at the end of 2017) were still there as equal opponents, Toyota Gazoo Racing has won 18 of the total of 33 WEC races with the TS050 Hybrid. Its drivers were on pole position 15 times and set the fastest race lap 14 times.
New hypercar replaces world championship winning car
One of the biggest successes was the fastest ever race lap at Le Mans. In addition, the 1000 hp hybrid prototype was instrumental in Toyota Gazoo Racing winning the world championships in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons.
It will be replaced by a new racing sports car for the 2021 season. This will be built in accordance with the new hypercar regulations and based on the GR Super Sport currently under development.
Title duel of the two Toyota teams
In the final race of the season in Bahrain, which lasts over eight hours, Toyota Gazoo Racing is still in contention for the Drivers' World Championship title within the team. The number #8 car driven by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley leads the standings by seven points after winning Le Mans.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López in the sister car with the #7, are the first pursuers in the title race. After their misfortune at Le Mans, they want to and could use their advantage due to the success handicap. Here the standings in the drivers' world championship before the final race.
First race without Rebellion
This was introduced in the LMP1 class this season to make the races more exciting. This involves imposing lap time penalties on the basis of each car's championship points. The more successful a car is in the standings, the more it is slowed down in the next race.
This remedy did not fail to serve its purpose, as it was the only way for Rebellion Racing to match the speed of the only LMP1 factory cars over the distance and take two victories (in Shanghai a year ago and in Austin in February) in the season that was drawing to a close.
The Swiss-flagged team from England gave its farewell performance with second place overall at Le Mans. As announced long before, main sponsor Rebellion has since set other priorities.
Disadvantage for Buemi's car
The two Toyotas are the only LMP1 contenders in Bahrain, so third place overall will certainly go to one of the six LMP2 teams. Although they therefore have no direct opponents, Toyota Gazoo Racing supports the decision to apply the handicap system in the final outing of the TS050 Hybrid in the interests of fairness to all teams.
This is only the second time this season that the #8 team with Sébastien Buemi has been at a disadvantage to its sister car. In the other WEC rounds, the number 7 car was at a disadvantage a total of three times. How this will play out will be known on Saturday evening.
Applause from and for Toyota Gazoo Racing after the victory at Le Mans. This also applies to the retiring LMP1 success model.
Live on Sport1
The 8 Hours of Bahrain will start on Saturday at 2 p.m. local time (12 CET); the chequered flag will be waved eight hours later in the dark evening hours.
The complete race is available on the Sport1 homepage under this Link as a free livestream or on the Sport 1+ pay-TV channel (11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.).
