Photo: FIAWEC.com
Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced an adjustment to its driver line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17 – 18.
The #7 Toyota TS050-Hybrid will now be driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Stéphane Sarrazin for the French classic. The line-up for the #8 entry remains unchanged with Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima sharing the driving duites.
Jose Maria Lopez, who was injured in an incident at the opening round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship at Silverstone and did not take part in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, will now join Nicolas Lapierre and Yuji Kunimoto in the #9 entry.
Toshio Sato, Toyota Gazoo Racing Team President, explained the decision:
“Our circumstances have changed over the last few weeks as a result of the injury to José Maria. He is in the unfortunate position of having completed very few racing laps this year in WEC, so we all felt it was appropriate to adjust the driver line-up.”
“I am very confident that Stéphane will fit well into a #7 line-up that can fight for the win,” continued Toshio Sato. “José Maria, like Yuji, will learn a lot at Le Mans this year, familiarising himself with the track and the event in general, and this is an important step for the future as well.”
The 2017 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place on June 17 – 18.