MOTORSPORT – TOYOTA Racing made a winning start to the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season last night with a sensational double podium in a hard-fought Six Hours of Imola in Italy.
In their 100th WEC race with hybrid power, the team earned their 50th victory thanks to the #8 TR010 HYBRID of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa.
Toyota teammates Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries finished third in the #7 TR010 HYBRID to complete a faultless team performance, with defending WEC Hypercar drivers’ world champions Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 499P of Ferrari AF Corse taking the runner-up classification.
“It’s a great story, to get our 50th win in our 100th race, on the home ground of Ferrari and on the debut of the TR010 Hybrid,” said an elated Buemi. “Of course, this is only the first race but congratulations to the whole team.
“The execution today was excellent, so I am very proud of everyone.”
Hartley added: “It’s an amazing feeling. The TR010 looked fast even before it turned a wheel, and now it wins on its debut.
“The team put in a lot of work over the last months to prepare for this first race. It was a real team effort today as well, and it’s not often you take a race victory with a feeling like that.
“There was an amazing crowd here at Imola and the podium was a beautiful moment. It feels like a special day.”
A total of 92,175 spectators attended over the weekend – a new record for a WEC event at Imola – and they witnessed a close and exciting race, interrupted by two short safety car periods before light rain and strong winds in the closing stages.
On their race debut, the two TR010 Hybrids and their driver crews showed consistent race pace, which was complemented by effective fuel and tyre strategies to gain positions over their Hypercar rivals during an intense six-hour contest.
The #8 TR010 started from the front row and Hartley ran third in his opening stint. Gains at the first pit stops initially elevated the #8 back into second, before Hirakawa took the lead early in the third hour. He established a small gap over the chasing Ferrari, which Buemi extended in the final two hours. He navigated tricky track conditions during a light shower to hold the advantage until the end.
When the chequered flag flew after six hours, Buemi crossed the line 13.352secs ahead of the #51 Ferrari, with Kobayashi bringing the #7 home in third, 27.835secs behind second place.
“We couldn’t ask for better than that,” said Hirakawa. “It’s our 100th race and we marked it with our 50th win. We made history and we are happy for that.
“Last year was really painful for us, nobody was happy with that, but this year we are back in the game, so I am really happy. Well done to everyone in the team.”
After their second successive win – following their victory in last year’s season-ending event in Bahrain – Toyota Racing hold the lead in both the Hypercar manufacturers’ and drivers’ world championships.
They will aim to defend those positions at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on May 9 in the second round of the season.
The WEC’s 2026 campaign is composed of eight rounds, with the grand finale, the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, scheduled for November 6 and 7 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
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