WEC 2018-19 TEAM & DRIVER
DRIVER
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MIKE CONWAY
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
Born— August 19, 1983 Lives— Sevenoaks, UKMike Conway (born August 19, 1983) is a racecar driver from the U.K. Beginning his career in karting, he competed in the U.K. F3 in 2005, racing for Formula Ford and Formula Renault, and the following year he won the F3. In 2007, after making his GP2 debut, he became an F1 test driver. He travelled to the U.S.A. in 2009 to compete in the Indy Car Series. Primarily working as a spotter until 2014, he also began to compete in WEC races in 2013, earning four victories in the LMP2 class. In 2014, he signed a contract with Toyota to be WEC reserve driver. As a stand-in for Kazuki Nakajima, who was unable to compete in Japan, he entered three races, turning one into his first LMP1 win. He has competed as driver since 2015.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -
KAMUI KOBAYASHI
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
Born— September 13, 1986 Lives— Tokyo, JapanKamui Kobayashi (born September 13, 1986) is a racecar driver from Amagasaki City, Japan. An accomplished kart racer, he claimed titles in the All-Japan Junior Karting Championship and the Suzuka Karting Championship in 2000, and the All-Japan Junior Karting Championships in 2001 (formerly ICA class). The same year, he attended the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) on scholarship. Kobayashi made his four-wheel vehicle debut in the Formula Toyota 2002. In 2006, he was sent to the Euro F3 through the Toyota Young Drivers Program. There he earned “Rookie of the Year” honors. He claimed his first GP2 victory in 2008, followed by a GP2 Asia Series title in 2009. He began racing F1 in 2010 as a full contestant and by 2012 he placed in the top three at the Japan Grand Prix. Kobayashi returned to Japanese racing in 2015 as a full contestant in the Super Formula. The following year, he competed in both the Super Formula as well as in the WEC. He broke a course record in the preliminaries of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -
JOSÉ MARÍA LÓPEZ
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
Born— April 26, 1983 Lives— ArgentinaJose Maria Lopez (born April 26, 1983) is a racecar driver from Argentina. Relocating to Europe in 2001, he built his career by competing in increasingly difficult categories. He claimed the series title for the Italian Formula Renault in 2002 and moved on to the GP2 in 2005. Since 2007, he has been competing in the GT category of the American Le Mans Series and the FIA GT Championship. For a time, he returned home to Argentina to compete there, but he moved back to Europe in 2014. He also competed in the WTCC as a works driver for a French car manufacturer, earning the title of series champion. Starting in the winter 2015, he has been a test driver for the Toyota WEC team. In addition to his work with the FIA WEC, he also competed in Formula E in 2017. Lopez won at the WEC for the first time at the 6 Hours of Fuji race of 2018.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -
SÉBASTIEN BUEMI
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
Born— October 31, 1988 Lives— MonacoSebastien Buemi (born October 31, 1988), a racecar driver from Switzerland, has gained extensive experience through participation in multiple racing categories. He made his formula race debut in 2004 with the German Formula BMW. Later, he drove in the Spain and Euro F3 Series, which he followed with the A1 Grand Prix. In 2007, in addition to the Euro F3, he competed in the GP2 as a stand-in for an injured driver. Upon serving as a reserve and test driver for the F1 team, he was quickly promoted to regular driver in 2009, becoming the first Swiss driver to do so in 14 years. Buemi currently continues to enter singe-seater races, including the Formula E. He joined the WEC in 2012, claiming his first victory the following year as well as taking the Series Champion title in 2014. In 2018 he achieved his long-time goal of victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -
KAZUKI NAKAJIMA
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
Born— January 11, 1985 Lives— Tokyo, JapanKazuki Nakajima (born November 1, 1985) is a racecar driver from Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan In 2003, he became the Formula Toyota champion as a student on scholarship. He entered the Japanese F3 Championship the following year. In 2006, he travelled to the U.S. under the sponsorship of the Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP), joining the Euro F3 and GP2 competitions. In 2007, he became an F1 test driver, and competed as a regular driver in F1 in 2008 and 2009. As of 2011 he has competed primarily in Japanese races, while also working as a spotter for the Toyota WEC in 2012. He claimed two consecutive victories in the 6 Hours of Fuji race in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, he was the first Japanese racer given the pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, he was in the lead until the final three minutes of the race, when his vehicle suddenly lost power. He then went on to achieve a well-earned first win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2018.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -
FERNANDO ALONSO
TS050 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
Born— July 29, 1981 Lives— Oviedo, SpainFernando Alonso (born July 29, 1981) is a racecar driver hailing from Oviedo, Spain. He first displayed his talents in kart racing as a four-time winner of the Spanish Karting Championship. In 1999, he took the title of Champion of the Formula Nissan Euro Open, held primarily in Spain. He went on to make his F1 debut in 2001 at the age of 19, setting a new record as the youngest person to claim the pole position—and winning the round--in 2003. He was the F1 World Champion for two consecutive years, in 2005 and 2006. More recently, as he continues to race in the F1, he also competes in other categories—including the Indianapolis 500—with a view to achieving his personal goal of winning the Triple Crown of Motorsports. He joined the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team for the current season, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the team.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM
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- Team President Hisatake Murata
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- Technical Director Pascal Vasselon
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- Team Director Rob Leupen
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- Vehicle Development Project Leader John Litjens
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- Team Manager John Steeghs
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