Sarrazin hoping to make the most of late COTA call-up

Stephane Sarrazin says that the decision for him to race with Toyota Gazoo Racing in its No. 8 TS050 HYBRID at this weekend's 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas was made just last week.

"I found out last week, it was a very late call!" Sarrazin told RACER. "I spoke with Pascal (Vasselon) last week, and he decided to give me a drive here, replacing Anthony, it's a good opportunity.

"I'm happy to be back – it's an amazing car, even if we are behind Porsche. We need to improve but I'm happy – I just hope Anthony will be OK soon."

Sarrazin's drive, filling in for Anthony Davidson after he was forced to pull out of the meeting due to personal reasons, is set to last just one race, Toyota confirming to RACER that Davidson is set to return to the team for the next round of the championship at Fuji Speedway on Oct. 15.

After competing with the Toyota team full-time up until this season, this race marks Sarrazin's third race in 2017. He drove the No. 9 TS050 at Spa-Francorchamps, and the No. 7 at Le Mans in place of Jose Maria Lopez; who was moved to the third car due to his lack of track time prior to the French classic.

So, as well as it being his third appearance in the WEC this season, it's therefore his third different driver crew too. Getting up to speed to racing with different teammates each time though, he says, hasn't been too difficult.

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"We are used to being all together, we are one team," explained Sarrazin (pictured above). "So if I drive one car or another car, it's not an issue for me. We've worked together for six seasons; I know all the drivers. I'm very friendly with Sebastien (Buemi) and also with Kazuki (Nakajima) so it's going to be fine."

Today's race is a critical one for the No. 8 crew, which is still gunning for the title, trying to catch the No. 2 Porsche in the points after winning at Silverstone and Spa. And while they will start the Lone Star Le Mans race third on the grid, behind the two 919 Hybrids, the 41-year-old Frenchman feels that the team still has a chance to take the fight to Porsche, given the right circumstances, citing the tire durability as a key factor in giving them a chance to win.

"We will give our best. The gap between us and Porsche has been a problem since Nurburgring – they made a very big step with their new downforce package. But we will fight; I really hope we can do it.

"The 919 is a very impressive car – the lap time they did in qualifying today was very impressive. On Friday, in the long runs we did, and yesterday in practice, we were OK (with tire degradation in the heat), but we still need to improve the balance.

"The car (TS050) is very good in general though on tire wear – very impressive, not much degradation. The team do really well at managing it, Michelin have also done a very good job. The drop-off in pace over long stints not going to be an issue for us."