2nd place for Buemi and his teammates in Monza

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned a dramatic double podium finish in the 6 Hours of Monza after an exciting but ultimately frustrating fourth round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Fresh from their Le Mans 24 Hours win, Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa overcame an early technical issue on their #8 GR010 HYBRID to finish second, only 2.762secs behind the winning #36 Alpine.

After a clean start, Sébastien drove brilliantly to hold second place under pressure from Alpine.

Late in the first hour, Sebastien's race was interrupted by an electronic problem. He managed the problem well but could not avoid losing two positions on the track, including second place to Jose Maria Lopez in the #7 Toyota. A system reset during his pit stop cost him 30 seconds and lost him fifth place, but the car was back on the pace and Sebastien passed the #94 Peugeot for fourth.

The #8 Toyota eventually finished in second place, close to the top step of the podium.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing therefore travels to the 6 Hours of Fuji with a point to prove, intent on returning to winning ways in its home race. The team has won seven of its eight races at Fuji Speedway and expects to challenge for another victory on 11 September in the penultimate round of the 2022 season.

“It was an eventful race for both cars. I am bit disappointed to miss out on the win by so little because we had a chance today. I had the issue early in the race and I did the best I could to minimise the time loss but it was not easy as the car was not driving normally. We got a break with the safety car, which helped us catch up to the leader and gave us a chance. Brendon and Ryo did a good job trying to catch the Alpine so it was a good recovery in the end.” Sébastien Buemi