Toyota: New Track Curbing Led to Damage, Silverstone DQ

Photo: MPS Agency

Toyota Gazoo Racing says the installation of new track curbing at Silverstone Circuit indirectly led to the disqualification of both cars from Sunday’s FIA World Endurance Championship round.

The race-winning No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, as well as the sister, second-placed No. 7 entry were excluded from the results after failing post-race skid deflection tests.

In a statement released late Sunday, the Japanese manufacturer said the design and construction of the skid block had not changed on the car since the beginning of the 2017 season, and passed similar tests, most recently at Spa earlier this year.

Of note, both Toyotas had bodywork changes during the race, with the No. 8 car having a nose change in the fifth hour and the rear deck swapped out on the No. 7 car late in the running.

“Both cars suffered damage to their respective front floor areas during the race due to impacts against the new curbs at Silverstone,” the statement read.

“Regrettably, this also caused both cars to fail deflection tests in post-race scrutineering.”

Toyota is now “evaluating” its next course of action, hinting that it could appeal the ruling.

The exclusions have handed the overall victory to the No. 3 Rebellion R13 Gibson of Gustavo Menezes, Mathias Beche and Thomas Laurent.

It is the first outright win in WEC competition for a privateer entrant and first for a non-hybrid since Spa 2012.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John