Cologna, Germany,
11
December
2015
|
09:51
Europe/Amsterdam

New role for Alex Wurz at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is proud to announce that Alex Wurz will take on a new role within its World Endurance Championship project.

Last month's Six Hours of Bahrain, in which Alex finished on the podium, was his final race behind the wheel. He will move into a new position as advisor and ambassador for the team.

He will assist with driver and team development as well as promoting TOYOTA's hybrid LMP1 technology at the race track and beyond. Already during his time as a driver with the team, Alex has made a substantial contribution in each of these areas.

Alex will continue with various other activities, including his work in Formula 1, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, as well as his track design and driver training business.

Today's announcement extends Alex's career at TOYOTA by at least two years and recognises the significant place he has in the team's history.

He was the first driver signed to the WEC project in late 2011, going on to take the team's first pole and victory in the Six Hours of Sao Paulo in 2012 prior to playing a major role in the 2014 manufacturers' World Championship title.

 

Toshio Sato, Team President: "I am very pleased to confirm that Alex will remain with us in a new role. His experience and understanding of top-level motorsport has already proved invaluable to us and we expect him to play an important role in the future. As well as the input he can offer our drivers and engineers, as a two-time Le Mans winner and highly-respected personality in motorsport, Alex will be a great ambassador for our team. I am happy Alex remains part of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family and I am looking forward to working with him in this new position."

 

Alex Wurz, Team Advisor and Ambassador: "I always intended that the end of my racing career would not be the end of my active involvement in motorsport, so I am pleased to start a new chapter in my life with TOYOTA. We have experienced a lot together since the beginning of this project and it is exciting to be part of the team's future. With a new car coming in 2016 and the WEC going from strength to strength, there is a lot to be excited about as we fight to reclaim our place at the front."

 

High-resolution copyright-free photos are available for editorial use at www.toyotahybridracing.com/media.

 

Media contact: 

Alastair Moffitt, Marketing & Communications Manager: alastair.moffitt@toyota-motorsport.com

 

About TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in the World Endurance Championship:

TOYOTA first competed in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 1983, marking the start of a long period of participation in endurance racing. Since 1985, TOYOTA cars have raced in 17 Le Mans 24 Hours races, achieving a best result of second place on four occasions (1992, 1994, 1999 and 2013). TOYOTA entered the revived WEC in 2012 with its first hybrid LMP1 car, the TS030 HYBRID, which won five of the 14 races it entered over two seasons. It was succeeded in 2014 by the four-wheel-drive TS040 HYBRID, which won its debut race and subsequently the 2014 drivers' and manufacturers' World Championships. They were designed and built by TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (TMG), where the race team is based. TMG previously represented TOYOTA in World Rally and Formula 1, and was responsible for the design and operation of TOYOTA's TS020 Le Mans car in 1998-99. TMG now combines motorsport participation with work as a high-performance engineering services provider to third party companies, as well as the TOYOTA family.

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