Fuji gamble pays off as Buemi takes the championship lead

With an hour to go, victory looked out of reach. Yet Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa went on to win the 6 Hours of Fuji in the #8 TR010 HYBRID, thanks to a bold strategy call and a nerve-shredding finale. The result puts the trio at the top of the drivers' World Championship with two races left in the season.

With qualifying cancelled due to poor weather, the #8 started eighth on a damp track. Buemi quickly gained two places, and the crew settled into the top six over the opening three hours. The second half began in frustration: early in the fifth hour, Hartley was pushed into a spin by the #007 Aston Martin at turn one. Hirakawa then took over in sixth.

The race turned on a safety car with 55 minutes remaining. Anticipating a long interruption for barrier repairs, the engineers adjusted the fuel load and left the tyres on. When racing resumed with 20 minutes to go, Hirakawa was in the lead. In the rain and under constant pressure from the #36 Alpine, he crossed the line 0.591 seconds ahead.

"This is one of our best wins in a long time. I'm really proud of this one, especially because it was completely unexpected going into the last part of the race," said Buemi.

In front of a 72,326 crowd, TOYOTA RACING claimed its 10th win at Fuji, its third of the season, and extended its lead in the manufacturers' standings to 23 points. The #7 finished eighth and remains second in the drivers' championship, 10 points back. Next up is the inaugural 6 Hours of Barcelona on 18 October.