TOYOTA RACING clinched victory this Sunday (the 28th) at the 6 Hours of Fuji, the sixth round of the 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, held at the Fuji circuit in Japan. The triumph for the home manufacturer was secured in dramatic fashion by the TR010 HYBRID #8 trio, driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa, who seized the lead of the Drivers’ World Championship and kept the team at the top of the Constructors’ standings.
The Fuji race did not see the TOYOTA RACING cars in the podium zone at the start of the decisive hour, but a bold strategy and strong driving allowed Buemi, Hartley, and Hirakawa to take the win before a crowd of 72,326 spectators. The victory marked the manufacturer’s tenth success at the Japanese circuit. Le Mans winners Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries crossed the line in eighth place.
After the rainy classification in Fuji, the TOYOTA RACING drivers had to launch into a comeback race, as the No. 8 car started from eighth position while the No. 7 team began from 13th. Still with a wet track, Buemi moved up two positions, while De Vries had to visit the pits in the first half-hour due to a puncture.
A recovery by the TR010 HYBRID No. 7 was halted at the start of the second hour after a rival’s contact sent it into a spin. Thus, TOYOTA RACING sought to place itself among the top six during the first three hours. The second half of the race began with Hartley spinning after contact from a rival in Turn 1 of the Japanese circuit.
The race continued with the No. 8 team visiting the pits for a driver change, with Hirakawa taking the wheel in sixth place. Kobayashi, for his part, was penalized for speeding in the pits and dropped from seventh to 12th after a drive-through. The position shift changed the dynamics in the final hour when a Safety Car entry left 55 minutes on the clock. Hirakawa’s crew anticipated a longer neutralisation and refueled the car without changing tires.
The race resumed with TOYOTA RACING in the lead with 20 minutes to go and under rain. Hirakawa withstood the pressure from the challengers and secured victory by a margin of 0.591 seconds. Kobayashi still had time to claw back positions and finished eighth in car No. 7.
“It’s incredible to be on the top step of the podium in front of our fans. Of course we always strive to win, but until the last Safety Car entry, that didn’t seem possible. The team did a great job with the strategy. This victory is for them,” said Ryu Hirakawa right after the Fuji race.
“The last laps were really tense. The track conditions were quite tricky, and Alpine was closing in quickly. I managed to keep my car under control, so I’m very happy, especially here at Fuji. It’s a truly special feeling and it’s also good for the championship,” Hirakawa added.
“Winning at Fuji is very important for us, so congratulations to the entire team for this victory, especially the crew of car #8, who put in an excellent stint. Everyone worked hard for this, and all of us kept fighting until the final moment,” Kobayashi, who besides being a driver is the head of TOYOTA RACING in the WEC, said.
“For our car, it was a day that was a bit tough and I don’t think we had a race that was calm enough. We were slightly off the overall pace, so we kept trying to claw back, and that defined our day,” Kobayashi concluded.
After the Fuji round, TOYOTA RACING leads the World Endurance Championship Constructors’ standings with 169 points, opening a 23-point gap over the second-placed team. In the Drivers’ World Championship, Hartley, Hirakawa, and Buemi lead with 89 points, ahead of 79 for the now second-placed Kobayashi, Conway, and De Vries.
The WEC has a resumption on October 18 with the 6 Hours of Barcelona, the penultimate round of the 2026 season, to be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
