19/9/2016
Toyota Gazoo Racing earned another podium finish after a strong performance in a closely fought Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas in Texas at the weekend.
The #6 TS050 Hybrid of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi finished third in an exciting race, recording their fourth podium in 2016.
A three-way fight for victory emerged in the final hour between the Toyota and two of its rivals from Porsche and Audi.
Sarrazin, on fresh tyres for the final stint, pushed to close the gap, missing out on second place by just 2.455secs from the Audi #8 and 26.096secs behind the winning Porsche #1.
Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in the #5 TS050 Hybrid ran as high as third place.
Several minor issues including damage to the front end and a puncture combined to keep them out of the podium fight, finishing in fifth.
The sixth round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship started under blazing sunshine with air temperatures over 35°C and finished in the dark.
Toyota will now travel with optimism to its home race, the 6 Hours of Fuji on 16 October, which takes place just a few kilometres from the Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre where the 746kW (1000hp) Toyota Hybrid System – Racing is developed and built.
