Toyota Gazoo Racing Secures 1st Place for 3 Consecutive Years at WEC 'Le Mans 24 Hours' Race

Completed 387 Laps in 24 Hours

TS050 HYBRID No. 8

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Toyota Gazoo Racing announced on the 22nd that it achieved first place for the third consecutive year with its hybrid vehicle 'TS050 HYBRID' in the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 'Le Mans 24 Hours' race held on the 19th and 20th.

The WEC is a motorsport event organized by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), where competitors race continuously for about 6 to 24 hours, testing speed and vehicle durability.

Drivers S?bastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Brendon Hartley, who competed in the TS050 HYBRID No. 8 car, completed 387 laps over 24 hours and won by a margin of 5 laps. Notably, drivers Buemi and Nakajima became part of an exclusive group of seven drivers in the 97-year history of Le Mans to achieve three consecutive wins.

Another TS050 HYBRID No. 7 car, driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jos? Mar?a L?pez, secured third place.

The TS050 HYBRID is a four-wheel-drive racing car with a maximum output of 1000 horsepower (PS). Compared to the first-generation LMP1 hybrid vehicle that first participated in the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours, it consumes 35% less fuel while achieving lap times approximately 10 seconds faster per lap.

Hisatake Murata, team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing's WEC team, said, "The Le Mans 24 Hours race once again made us realize that it is a competition that demands true endurance under extreme conditions."

Meanwhile, Toyota Gazoo Racing previewed the 'GR Super Sport (tentative name)', currently under development, before the start of the final race.