Toyota Gazoo Racing Secured the win at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. However, the pole sitting No. 07 car wasn’t the triumphant car. The No. 08 GR010 found the pace and strategy to inch it’s way ahead of the sister pole sitting No. 07 car to win the race. The No. 07 car started from pole and had a seemingly positive grasp on the win until an ill fated pit stop with multiple technical issues cost the No. 07 car a large amount of time int he pits allowing the Porsches to gain ground and eventually pass and finish ahead. Despite the challenge the No. 07 finished P4. Toyota Gazoo Racing
Words from the Drivers of the No. 08 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010
Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It is an amazing day for us on car #8, winning a race for the first time this year. We had a great car. Tire management was one of our strengths, particularly the fact we could use the medium compound throughout the race which really helped us have good pace. I’m so happy to finally have a weekend without any issues after a tricky start to the season. We had a strong qualifying with the one-two but car #7 was unlucky with their issue. They were very fast and deserved a much better result than that. We scored good points in the manufacturers’ World Championship, and we will go to the next race aiming to keep that going.”
Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It feels great to get the first win of the season. We haven’t had the best of seasons up to now on car #8 so to get this win is fantastic. Car #7 did an amazing race, they were flying today, so I feel bad for them. My first stint at the start was not easy, with a lot of tire degradation but we got on top of that and had a nice, clean race. We got the win and that’s what matters. We also scored good points for the World Championship, so we want to keep this momentum for the next races.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “I am so happy for our first victory of the year. It has been a long time since Bahrain when we last won but we never gave up and always pushed hard. My stint was not easy with the degradation, so I needed to look after the tires. I had the chance to change tires on the right-hand side but I still had to manage the tires a lot, so I was happy I could keep the gap to the car behind. For the team in the manufacturers’ World Championship, it was important that we won the race, and I am happy we did it. Thanks to the fans for their support all weekend and thanks to the whole team for their huge effort this week. There are three races to go so we will keep pushing for the title.”
Full Results from Sao Paulo