Brendon Hartley, who looks likely to race for Toro Ross in 2018 having made an impressive debut with the Faenza team in Austin, claimed his second WEC crown at the weekend.

Along with countryman Earl Bamber and Germany’s Timo Bernhard, Hartley steered the No. 2 Porsche to second place at Shanghai in the penultimate round of the championship.

While Toyota won the race, courtesy of Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi, second was enough to secure Porsche's third successive WEC title as it prepares to leave the sport for Formula E.

Earlier this year, Hartley won the Le Mans 24 Hour classic for the first time, having finished second in 2015 - the year he first won the WEC title - with Mark Webber and Bernhard.

Though not officially confirmed at Toro Rosso next season, team boss Franz Tost recently said it was highly likely the Kiwi will partner Pierre Gasly.

The F1 race at Austin, where the youngster replaced Gasly, marked Hartley's Grand Prix debut and came seven years after the youngster was dropped from the Red Bull programme. Despite the shock at his career seemingly coming to a halt, the Kiwi, who along with Daniel Ricciardo has been test and reserve driver for the Austrian outfit, subsequently made the move to Sports Cars and has never looked back.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ScottC, 06/11/2017 13:28 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 06/11/2017 13:41)

"This comment was removed by an administrator as it was judged to have broken the site's posting rules and etiquette."

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2. Posted by Greg, 06/11/2017 13:01

"Yes the F1 cars are quicker, but after at most 2 hours thw xruve is finished. LMP1 etc at least are 6 hours or longer with a driver change, traffic from slower classes, sometimes night driving, no floodlights.

Much more exciting, a pity they are all leaving, but formua E is really picking up, while who knows where F1 wi go."

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3. Posted by GrahamG, 06/11/2017 10:51 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 06/11/2017 13:41)

"If you have ever seen an LMP1 Porsche in the flesh you will realise that a move to F1 really shouldn't be a problem. They are fast, complex, brutal machines, long driving sessions and long races. Makes F1 look rather "prima donna" with its fancy wings and unreliable engines and everything else."

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Hartley claims second WEC title

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