By sportswriter Michael Butterworth
SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Rebellion Racing ended Toyota's seven-race winning streak in the World Endurance Championship, taking victory in Round 3 of the 2019-20 season here on Sunday.
A perfect start to the season, with one-two finishes in the first two races, saw both Toyotas slapped with the maximum permitted success penalty under WEC regulations.
This meant a reduction in the amount of fuel and hybrid energy available to the Japanese squad, making both TS050 cars noticeably slower than their LMP1 rivals on the Shanghai International Circuit's two long straights.
However, both the #7 and #8 Toyotas were able to remain competitive thanks to their superior tyre management, and salvaged third and second places respectfully, behind the winning #1 Rebellion of Bruno Senna, Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato.
After setting the early pace, the two Team LNT Ginettas slumped to fourth and fifth in the final classification, with their cause not helped by having to take drive-through penalties for jumping the start, a fate that also befell the #7 Toyota.
In the LMP2 category, top honors went to the #38 JOTA Sport Oreca of Roberto Gonzalez, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Anthony Davidson, representing the class's third different winner in as many races so far this season.
The Chinese-owned Jackie Chan DC Racing #37 entry gave the home fans something to cheer by taking second in class, with third place going to the #22 Oreca of United Autosports.
A close fight in the GTE Pro category resulted in Ferrari claiming bragging rights, as the #48 AF Corse entry of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi took victory by just 6.7s from the #92 Porsche of Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen.
The #91 Porsche was a further 13s adrift in third, while the GTE Am class was won by the #90 TF Sport entry driven by Salih Yoluc, Charles Eastwood and Jonathan Adam.
The next round of the 2019-20 World Endurance Championship is the 8 Hours of Bahrain on December 14.
