TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is determined to end the year on a high with another one-two victory in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Shanghai to extend its World Championship lead. The eight-round 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) runs from this May to next June so the Chinese event, held at the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit, marks not only the start of the second half of the season, but also the final round of this calendar year. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing travels to Shanghai in a positive and determined mood following its impressive one-two victory in the 6 Hours of Fuji on home ground in Japan last month, which established a 14-point lead in the teams’ World Championship over nearest rivals Rebellion Racing.
However with two wins from four races, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso in the #8 TS050 HYBRID are leading the standings by 13 points ahead of what promises to be another close and exciting fight between the two TOYOTAs. The team has a strong record in China having won on three of its previous six visits to the Shanghai International Circuit, located around 40km from the city centre.
Source: Automobilsport |
The drivers’ World Championship is currently a fight between the two TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews after Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López in the #7 TS050 HYBRID rejuvenated their title challenge with their first win of the season at Fuji.
To prepare its challenge for a repeat victory, and a seventh win from the last eight WEC races, the team will begin optimising its 1,000hp, four-wheel drive TS050 HYBRID race cars during two 90-minute practice sessions on Friday. Qualifying takes place on Saturday while the race begins at 11am local time on Sunday.