Toyota perfectly launched its season in the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship by winning at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, after a strategic race against Ferrari on its home turf.
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The crew composed of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi gave the Japanese manufacturer its 50th WEC victory — during its 100th participation — with the GR010 Hybrid n°8.
They won with a 13.352-second lead over the Ferrari 499P n°51 driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado.
Toyota unyielding in the race
Third place in these 6 Hours of Imola went to the other Toyota, n°7, with Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway, confirming the overall superiority of the Japanese manufacturer in this round even though Ferrari had secured pole position in qualifying.
The race was decided by tire strategy. Toyota gained a decisive advantage in the third hour by choosing not to change tires during a key pit stop, unlike Ferrari. A Virtual Safety Car — caused by Nick Cassidy‘s off-track excursion in the Peugeot 9X8 — then allowed the n°8 to fit new tires “for free”, further strengthening its position.
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Traffic and pit stop management was also crucial: the Toyota n°7 briefly moved ahead of the Ferrari n°51, further complicating the latter’s race. Even though Kobayashi lost his position again after a late stop, the time conceded by Giovinazzi gave Buemi a comfortable lead. The expected rain ultimately never arrived to reshuffle the cards.
Alpine better than Peugeot
Behind, the n°35 Alpine — with Charles Milesi, António Félix da Costa and Ferdinand Habsburg — finished fourth, almost a minute behind. It narrowly held off the BMW n°20 of René Rast and Robin Frijns. As for the Ferrari n°50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, it compromised its podium chances due to a drive-through penalty for an infringement under a yellow flag, despite a strong comeback at the end of the race.
Further back, the second BMW of Team WRT (n°15) finished ahead of the best Cadillac from the Hertz Team JOTA, while the other Cadillac V-Series.R dropped in the standings after a similar penalty. Also noteworthy were the subdued performance of Peugeot, out of the points, and the discreet but solid debuts of Genesis with its two new cars at the finish of their first race.
Next WEC event in three weeks for the 6 Hours of Spa on the magnificent Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a prelude to the 24 Hours of Le Mans which will take place mid-June, as usual.
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