Toyota’s #8 TR010 Hybrid seized victory at the Fuji 6 Hours, turning a mid‑field seventh‑place start into a close 0.591‑second win under a late safety car.
The car entered the triple‑hour event as the fastest of the support field, yet its pace never matched the leaders. The front‑row Alpine A424s, pillaged with more aggressive fuel loads, never lost the pole advantage.
Early in the race, an uncontrolled Turn 1 crash by the McLaren 720S GT3 brought the safety car out 50 minutes before the finish, setting the scene for a pivotal strategic interlude.
Toyota’s engineers opted to short‑fuel the #8, filling only 72 % of its tank, and skipped a tyre change, banking on an extended caution once the guardrail repair progressed.
\”It wasn’t luck; it was a decision,\” Sebastien Buemi said, noting that the guardrail would take time to restore and that a quick restart would have cost them the race.
With the safety car extended, Ryo Hirakawa sprinted past the A424s, securing the win inside a record‑close margin that marked the tightest finish in WEC history.
Brendon Hartley recounted a T‑bump on the first pit exit, but praised the team’s “faultless” strategy and Toyota’s ability to outfox rivals.
Technical director David Floury admitted the fuel gamble was “guesswork,” saying the team had to “look at the TV and guess how much shorter the race would be.”
The triumph moved Toyota to the top of both the driver and manufacturer standings, cementing its claim over the season’s marathon championship.
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