TOYOTA RACING closed out the WEC season by clinching the drivers’ title in the eighth and final round of 2026, the 6 Hours of Monza, with the trio of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sébastien Buemi, driving the TR010 HYBRID number 8. The manufacturer secured four victories that year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the home race at Fuji, which helped the team secure the World Constructors’ Championship at the Barcelona round.
In the Italian stage of the championship, the title fight involved both TOYOTA RACING trios, those of Hartley, Hirakawa and Buemi, who finished in 11th place, and the #7 car crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, who finished one position behind their teammates.
After three victories this season, the #8 car team secured their third world title together. For Buemi and Hartley, this year’s achievement marks their fifth World Endurance Championship, while Hirakawa secured the championship for the third time in his career. As Le Mans winners, Conway, Kobayashi and De Vries needed to erase 17 points from the leaders, which did not happen.
TOYOTA RACING closes its first season using the TR010 HYBRID with four victories and seven podiums, in addition to the double with the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. Now, there are seven drivers’ titles and eight constructors’ titles in the planet’s premier endurance racing championship, which began in 2012.
“Congratulations to the entire team and to the crew of car number 8 for securing the drivers’ title. We won at Le Mans, our home race at Fuji, and the two world championships. The team did an incredible job. Thank you for all the effort in Cologne and Higashi-Fuji, as well as for the support coming from Japan, including Morizo-san and Nakajima-san, who helped us create this TOYOTA RACING project,” said Kamui Kobayashi, driver and head of TOYOTA RACING.
“It hasn’t always been easy. We didn’t change much internally, but we started with a somewhat different approach and, now at the end of the season, we can say it has been very positive. I truly appreciate all the effort dedicated to this season,” Kobayashi adds.
The Monza race was challenging. The only dry-track activity over the weekend occurred in qualifying, which meant Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa would start from 14th, and Conway, Kobayashi and De Vries from 17th. The race, watched by a crowd of 75,181 people, was Conway’s last, as he announced his retirement after 12 seasons, 20 wins, and two World Championship titles with TOYOTA RACING.
Both cars pushed hard to enter the points zone and gain positions. The race featured four Safety Car periods, with no incidents for the TR010 HYBRIDs until the decisive 90 minutes. The No. 7 car suffered bodywork damage after a touch in the first chicane. Kobayashi, later, was rear-ended by another rival a few laps later, at the same corner.
Nevertheless, both cars avoided further issues and completed the race and the 2026 season.
