Toyota achieved a new double in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) after the dispute of 8 Hours of Bahrain, last test of the calendar. This assured the Japanese firm two new world titles, the drivers’ and the constructors’.
Swiss’s Toyota No. 8 Sebastien Buemithe New Zealander Brendon Hartley and the japanese Ryo Hirakawawinners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, it was content with second place behind its sister car, the Briton’s No. 7 mike conwayfrom Japanese kamui kobayashi and the Argentine Jose Maria Lopez.
That result allowed Buemi to win a third drivers’ world title and the first for Hartley and Hirakawa. The Conway-Kobayashi-López trio, twice champion in 2019-2020 and then in 2021, finished third in the drivers’ standings.
“Well done to the guys in the #8 car who really deserve this championship after a very strong season. Congratulations to the entire team in Cologne and in Japan and to all the people and partners who work behind the scenes to help us succeed. It’s been a year of intense competition, but we’ve achieved our goals, so I’m very happy.” said Pechito López.
“I really enjoyed starting the race. It was a lot of fun fighting up close with all the other Hypercars. Mike and Kamui performed very well, which made things easy for me when I jumped towards the end. We have a great group and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it. It is really a pleasure to be part of this team and enjoy moments like this”he added.
The podium of the tournament was completed with the Alpine No. 36 of the French Nicholas Lapierre Y Matthieu Vaxiviereand from the Brazilian Andre Negroo, who finish second in the World Championship with a modified LMP2. The French brand, very regular in the places of honor, finished second in constructors behind the Japanese brand, thanks to its victories at Sebring and Monza.
Alpine will take a year off from the WEC and will return for the 2024 season with a new hypercar from the LMh category, where Peugeot and Ferrari have already signed up, and where Porsche, Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Lamborghini will also compete in the future.
The 2023 WEC calendar includes the following races:
- March 11 and 12: Prologue (Sebring)
- March 17: 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
- April 16: 6 Hours of Portimao.
- April 29: 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps.
- June 10 and 11: 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- July 9: 6 Hours of Monza.
- September 10: 6 Hours of Fuji.
- November 4: 8 Hours of Bahrain.
The 2023 season will be interesting for sure, but everyone is rubbing their hands for 2024