The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium this weekend as the jewel in the crown of endurance racing, the Le Mans 24 Hours, inches ever closer.

The opening race of the new season, the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April, gave teams the first indication of their relative performance as the new TOYOTA TS040 HYBRID took on the proven might of the Audis and comparatively unknown pace of the Porsche team – as the trio of manufacturer teams battled with new technical regulations and heightened competition. Ultimately, it was TOYOTA Racing which took the spoils on race day with a well-deserved 1-2 to set the scene for what promises to be a fascinating season ahead.

Walking through the Silverstone paddock on the Friday leading up to that first race of the season, it was the newbies at Porsche who were garnering all the attention. All eyes, in fact, were firmly on Australian Mark Webber who was making his sports car debut following a high profile switch from F1. The throng of passionate British motor racing aficionados gathered patiently and expectantly outside the Porsche hospitality leaving the rest of the Silverstone paddock quiet in comparison.

It was fascinating, therefore, to watch our clients TOYOTA Racing, multiple endurance race winners in the past two seasons, go about their business in their usual diligent, professional and unassuming manner. No lavish motorhome, no fanfare, just the hallmarks of a team who, in their third season in FIA WEC, know precisely how to deal with the rigours of an endurance race in winning style. We wish the team more success at Spa this weekend.