Toyota Hybrid Power wins World Endurance Championship

2014_Sao+Paulo_racelr

Toyota has stormed back into the global motorsport winners’ circle with a hybrid-powered victory as world champions in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Second and fourth in the season’s eighth and final race in Brazil were enough to extend Toyota’s overall lead in the manufacturers’ championship and cement its first global motorsport crown in 15 years.

Toyota Racing’s two-car TS040 Hybrid team triumphed with a season that included setting four pole positions, winning five of the eight rounds, gaining 12 podium finishes, setting the fastest lap in four races and claiming 1-2 finishes three times.

As a result, Toyota has become the first Japanese manufacturer to win the WEC title in any of its guises since the sports-car series began in 1953. Its previous global manufacturers’ title was the World Rally championship in 1999.

Toyota also claimed the 2014 drivers’ championship with Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi, who had clinched the title in the previous race, extending their lead in the season-ender.

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, paying tribute to the drivers, team and supporters, said he was overjoyed to win the two titles and vowed to use the company’s motorsport learnings to improve its road cars.

“Toyota will use these experiences in the FIA World Endurance Championship to help revolutionise hybrid technology and to help make ever-better cars that delight people around the world,” Toyoda said.

Toyota+world+championslr

The final race, which ended frustratingly under safety-car conditions, was earlier marked by some of the best racing of the season at the 4.309km Interlagos circuit in Brazil – the shortest track in the championship. A controversial drive-through penalty forced the team’s #7 car and drivers Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway to be content with fourth place.

The 2014 successes mark a significant milestone for the advanced Toyota Hybrid System – Racing technology. The project to pioneer a hybrid system for motorsport began in 2006 and in July 2007 an all-wheel-drive Toyota Supra HV-R became the first hybrid to win an endurance race – the Tokachi 24 Hours.

Toyota TS040 Hybrid racer hybrid powertrain

Described as having the most advanced hybrid technology in racing, the current TS040 Hybrid delivers a maximum power boost of more than 18 per cent while complying with new regulations that cut fuel use by 25 per cent.

Output from the car’s hybrid system has gained well over 100kW to a peak of 735kW (1000ps) by combining a major advance in electric power with a larger-capacity 3.7-litre V8 petrol engine.

The system takes hybrid technology to the next level, adding a motor-generator on the front axle in addition to a similar unit at the rear, allowing the system to provide power to all four wheels.

A major evolution of the TS030 Hybrid that won five WEC races over the past two seasons, the latest powertrain harvests more braking energy that is stored in a super-capacitor and used under acceleration to deliver a 480ps power boost.

Toyota TS040 Hybrid racer side

Team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita said winning the manufacturers’ and driver’s world championships was one of the company’s biggest motorsport achievements. He paid tribute to Toyota’s WEC rivals Audi and Porsche, describing them as strong competitors with an incredible history in endurance racing.

“This makes our achievement even more valuable to us,” said Kinoshita. “We will enjoy this moment, but immediately we will be working hard to retain our titles in 2015.”

Check Also

2023 Toyota LandCruiser GR Sport vs Land Rover Defender D300 Review

Off-road vehicles are no longer just off-road vehicles these days. Market demands have dictated that …