The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 TS050 HYBRID took victory in the 1000 Miles of Sebring, the sixth round of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season, in a race which ended in tricky wet conditions just before midnight, Friday 15 March.
Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima claimed a third victory of the season to extend their points lead in the World Championship title chase. The pole-sitting car led for the entire event and only a small off-track excursion for Buemi, when he attempted to overtake the ailing DragonSpeed LMP1 car, threatened to unsettle their drive to victory.
The pivotal moment of the race came in the fourth hour when José Maria Lopez made contact with the TF Sport Aston Martin driven by Jonny Adam. The resulting damage lost the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car over a lap and ensured that its stablemate rivals had a clear run to the chequered flag.
Along with Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway took second position but now have a deficit of 15-points in the standings. There was drama in the final 25-minutes when a rain shower hit the circuit, sending teams running for wet tyres for the final nail-biting laps.
When Loïc Duval crashed his TDS Racing LMP2 car in the final 10-minutes of the 8-hour race it triggered a Safety Car which was withdrawn just before the chequered flag was shown.
Taking third position at Sebring was the No.11 SMP Racing crew of returning WEC former Champion Brendon Hartley, Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov. They took advantage of last hour difficulties for the No.3 Rebellion Racing car, crewed by Gustavo Menezes, Nathanaël Berthon and Thomas Laurent, to take a second consecutive podium for the Russian-entered SMP team.
Provisional race results can be found HERE. They remain provisional until post race scrutineering has been completed in Sebring.
