Toyota dusts German brands in China

The No. 8 Toyota led home the No. 7 sister car as the Japanese brand destroyed Porsche and Audi

Toyota Racing took its second consecutive one-two victory, winning the Six Hours of Shanghai by more than a lap to extend its lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi took a dominant win in the #8 TS040 HYBRID, their fourth of the season, to stretch their lead in the drivers’ World Championship to 42 points.

The 1,000PS four-wheel-drive TS040 HYBRID, which dominated the last round in Fuji, was once again in a class of its own with Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima taking second place in the #7.

That gives TOYOTA a 29-point advantage in the manufacturers' World Championship with two races remaining.

The race started in bright sunshine, with Sebastien and Alex retaining second and fourth positions respectively during the first corners before an accident at the rear of the field brought out the safety car.

The no. 8 Toyota starts to gap the Germans immediately

While the pack circulated slowly behind the safety car, both cars pitted for new tires and more fuel, therefore eliminating the need for a short refuelling stop late in the race when more time would be lost.

When racing resumed after 25 minutes, Alex was the leading TS040 HYBRID as Sebastien had pitted a second time to top up on fuel due to a temporary refuelling issue at his first stop.

Sebastien overtook Alex while both soon moved into the top six and began closing on the leaders.

Setting fastest laps on the way, Sebastien battled past the front runners and into the lead by the time he handed over to Anthony, who resumed ahead. Alex was close behind and made two decisive overtaking moves to move from fourth to second.

The two-hour mark passed with the TS040 HYBRIDs stretching their advantage and soon after, at the next round of stops, Stephane took over the #7 from Alex while Anthony continued for another stint.

Sports car racing is so popular fans packed the grandstands in Shanghai on Friday and Saturday. Race day about 5,000 showed up.

A smooth race continued and, as the 100-lap milestone approached, Sebastien returned to the wheel of the #8, by now holding a healthy advantage over the #7.

While Sebastien continued for a second stint in the #8, Stephane handed the #7 to Kazuki with more smooth pit stops helping to maintain TOYOTA Racing's control of the race.

By the time Sebastien swapped with Anthony for the final time, the #8 held a one-lap lead over all cars except the second-place #7. That left Anthony and Kazuki to bring the cars home for the team's third one-two finish of the season.

The battle for the World Championship now moves into the final stages with just two races remaining, in Bahrain on 15 November and Sao Paulo on 30 November.

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