Toyota Shuffles Driver Lineup

Photo: Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing has shuffled its driver lineup for the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship season.

The Japanese manufacturer confirmed Thursday that Nicolas Lapierre will move to the No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid, with Stephane Sarrazin taking his place in the No. 7 entry for the eight-round championship that kicks off at Silverstone in April.

As a result, the No. 7 car will now be driven by Sarrazin, Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima, with Lapierre, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi in the No. 8 entry.

Both cars are committed to the full season for the first time.

While the No. 7 car was registered as a full-time entrant last year, it missed the Interlagos and COTA rounds due to a post-Le Mans scale-back in order to focus on development of its new-for-2014 contender.

The Toyota TS040 Hybrid will be officially unveiled at Paul Ricard on March 27.

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