Source link : https://motorsports-news.org/2026/04/24/sportscars/toyota-denies-ferrari-residence-win-in-wec-imola-opener-2/
Toyota outgunned Ferrari on observe and within the pits to say victory within the World Endurance Championship’s Imola opener on Sunday.
Sébastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley clinched the highest spot within the upgraded #8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid, granting the Japanese producer a win on its one hundredth WEC begin.
The pole-sitting #51 Ferrari 499P crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi needed to accept second, whereas Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway accomplished the rostrum within the #7 Toyota.
The race boiled all the way down to a two-horse battle between the 2 producers, with the likes of Alpine, BMW and Peugeot unable to bother the frontrunners for almost all of the day.
Firstly, Calado pulled away cleanly from pole place within the #51 Ferrari, with team-mate Molina making the most of mushy tyres to go Hartley’s Toyota for second.
Ferrari held a 1-2 for about an hour earlier than a sooner service from the Toyota crew allowed Hartley to regain the place he had misplaced to Molina.
Toyota then rolled the cube in direction of the top of the second hour, bringing within the #8 for a driver change with out switching tyres.
This allowed Hirakawa, who took over from Hartley, to imagine the lead of the race, forward of the #51 Ferrari now pushed by Pier Guidi.
The technique performed into Toyota’s fingers when Hypercar debutant Nick Cassidy beached the #93 Peugeot 9X8 on chilly tyres on his out lap, bringing out…
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Author : Motorsports
Publish date : 2026-04-24 13:50:00
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