Kazuki Nakajima wins in front of home crowd

Toyota Racing won a thrilling Six Hours of Fuji from pole position to delight its home fans in Japan and secure a second victory in its debut FIA World Endurance Championship season. More after the break.

GAZOO Racing Lexus LFA crosses finish line

When the chequered fell at the Nürburgring on Sunday afternoon, both our GAZOO Racing and Toyota Swiss Racing teams erupted with joy, with mechanics and team members hanging over the pit wall to wave our drivers home. The GAZOO Racing Lexus LFA crossed the finish line 15th overall, having started from 32nd place on the grid. Perhaps more importantly, the LFA picked up a class win in the SP8 class. GAZOO Racing Toyota GT86 #166 also picked up a class win in the SP3 class, while #165 finished 3rd. Toyota Swiss Racing Team’s GT86 #200 surged back to claim victory in the V3 class despite losing #201 two hours into the race. More after the break.

GAZOO LFA from the pit wall

It has been rather eventful since my last post. As daylight broke over the Nürburgring, I expected to post something about great sunny day for the remainder of the race. Well, the blue skies turned grey as soon as I looked back out. Then the spittle of rain started splattering across the track. It was unfortunate that GAZOO Racing Lexus LFA just came for a pit stop to put on new slicks and the rain came down as it left the pit lane. In the next hour or two, the LFA changed from slicks to wets to intermediates and back to slicks as the sun did finally come out and the track dried. Lap times fell across the board while the track remained wet. However, the weather here really is ever changing. It’s now pretty hot, and the P4/5 Competizione team’s pit wall says track temperature is around 45°C! More after the break.

Sky's not so dark anymore

The inky black sky has now turned a deep blue tinge. Daylight is approaching. With just under 11 hours to go, we’re past half-way point. In the past three hours or so, the GAZOO Racing team and Toyota Swiss Racing team both made good progress. Everything is currently going smoothly. During the early hours of the morning, I spent some time with the GAZOO mechanics in the garage. I’ve been yawning uncontrollably but I hardly noticed anyone in the team showing even the slightest signs of tiredness. I’m sure they are. In fact, driver Wakisaka-san tweeted that he was still suffering from jet-lag. But, none of that is showing. I know they feel it, but all of them are focussed and clinical in every task they have to perform. You know we talk about training our people in one of the harshest motorsport environments possible? You can really see that all of them are taking up this challenge and getting on with it, with absolute professionalism. Latest result update after the break.

GAZOO Toyota GT86 pits at night

The night has settled in, but it’s not in the least calm at the Nürburgring. As updated earlier, Toyota Swiss Racing Team sadly lost one of their GT86′s following an accident with a Porsche. GAZOO has had some niggles tonight (actually, it would be last night now, as it is 02:00 CET). When the Lexus LFA was scheduled to pit, the driver radioed in to say that there might not be enough fuel to get back. Luckily it managed to coast in and get refuelled in short order. However, not long after the stop – which saw some rush front end repairs – the LFA had to come back for a full front bumper replacement. It lost a little bit of time, so now need to catch up again. In the mean time, the remaining Toyota Swiss GT86 had a small part change to improve airflow into the engine. Not much time lost. Full results, pictures and videos after the break.