Toyota unveils Le Mans challenger
Toyota Racing announced more details of its forthcoming FIA World Endurance Championship participation on Wednesday, including an
intention to race two cars in some races.
The new team, which is based at Toyota Motorsport in Cologne, Germany, will make its race debut on 5 May in the Spa-Francorchamps 6-Hour
Race, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Toyota intends to enter two TS030 Hybrid cars in the subsequent Le Mans 24
Hours (16-17 June). Participation in further rounds is yet to be confirmed.
A driver line-up of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima has already been confirmed for one car while discussions are still
ongoing to finalise the driver line-up for the other. Additionally, Andrea Caldarelli has joined Toyota Racing as a junior driver.
The TS030 Hybrid is Toyota's successor to the TS010 and TS020 cars which participated at Le Mans with podium success during the 1990s.
It's worth noting that Toyota is the first manufacturer to confirm its participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship using a hybrid
system, emphasising the pioneering approach to this technology which has seen more than 3.5 million Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide.
The THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System - Racing) powertrain is designed to deliver maximum performance and features an all-new 3.4-litre V8
normally-aspirated petrol engine and hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo. The team will use
the car's first test to evaluate the merits, within the current regulations, of a front motor system produced by Aisin AW and a rear motor
system developed by Denso. Those regulations limit hybrid systems to recovering a maximum of 500kJ between braking zones whilst restricting
deployment to only two wheels.
A brand new carbon-fibre LMP1 chassis has been developed and produced at TMG, where the complete car was assembled for the first time in
preparation for a roll-out on 11 January at Paul Ricard. During an exclusive test session at the French track, which included running at
night, the TS030 completed several hundred kilometres, showing an impressive level of reliability and performance for this very early stage
in the car's testing programme.
Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre both put the car through its paces at Paul Ricard, joined by 30-year-old Japanese driver Hiroaki Ishiura,
who is a candidate to join the driver line-up at races where the team will participate with two cars.
"Of course we would love to win Le Mans - that is the dream for all competitors in this race," said team president Yoshiaki
Kinoshita, "but we are realistic and we know we need to develop and to learn in order to compete with some very strong competition. Our
target this year is to show the performance level of our car and particularly the powertrain. Hybrid is a core technology of Toyota so it is
important to demonstrate this in a motorsport arena and we want to prove it can bring a performance advantage, both in terms of lap time and
fuel efficiency. Everyone involved in designing, developing and preparing the car has worked incredibly hard to reach this point and we are
all very excited to be back on the race track again."
"The two main performance drivers of our car are the aerodynamics and the hybrid system," said technical director Pascal
Vasselon. "The regulations for hybrid powertrains allow us to recover energy under braking and release this to improve acceleration out
of a corner, delivering lap-time benefit. For any given performance level, a hybrid powertrain will achieve this with less fuel so it is an
extremely relevant technology and one we are excited to be bringing to endurance racing. Another key point in our development phase has been
delivering aerodynamic efficiency. The development team has worked very hard to achieve an optimum aero concept using our state-of-the-art
aero development processes based on combined wind tunnel testing and CFD. Judging by the positive feedback we received during the roll-out
we have a very good base on which to build in the coming weeks."
"Toyota has been working on hybrid systems for motorsport for several years, during which time we have made huge progress,"
said hybrid project leader Hisatake Murata. "Now we feel ready to bring our technology to the ultimate motorsport test: the Le Mans 24
Hour Race. Integrating a hybrid powertrain is, of course, a different challenge compared to a 'standard' powertrain, but we have worked
together with partners to develop the technology so it is part of the overall concept of the car. This technology will be used to recover up
to 500kJ between braking events, energy which can be released via either front or rear motors to deliver a performance advantage. Toyota's hybrid
technology has already won a 24-hour race - the Tokachi 24 Hour in 2007 - so now we are bringing the latest THS-R development to global
motorsport. We know this is a technically-demanding exercise but we are well prepared for the challenge."
"It was cool to drive the TS030 Hybrid car for the first time," said former Formula One driver Alex Wurz. "Just leaving
the garage on the electric power is very futuristic, then when you let the clutch go and the internal combustion engine kicks in it is like
an old friend has returned! When we put on the slick tyres I could feel the car generates a very good amount of grip so I think we have a
good base and I think we can turn this into a really fast car. I am definitely very happy but my nature is to also be analytical and
therefore I know there is still a lot of work to be done. It's really good to work with all the mechanics and engineers. The Toyota Racing
team is very international and this works well. I am very comfortable in this team because they are all extremely professional, that is
really clear."
"My first impression from the roll-out was positive," said Nicolas Lapierre. "The chassis is really advanced and the hybrid
system works very well. The car has good reaction to the steering with quick and efficient response combined with an impressive base level
of downforce which is a nice feeling for a driver. It is totally different from anything I have known before because the philosophy is
different. So our roll-out was promising and we saw the car's potential on several levels. We still have plenty of work to do but I think
that we will have a strong package. We are starting from a blank page so the challenge is exciting."
"I cannot wait to drive the TS030 Hybrid for the first time," said Kazuki Nakajima. "I spoke a lot with Alex and Nicolas
about the car during the roll-out and it obviously has great potential. I have been doing a lot of time in the TMG driving simulator so I
have got to know the car in a virtual world, as well as the Le Mans track - now it's time to drive it for real. It is a great opportunity
for me and I am thoroughly looking forward to the experience of racing in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota. To return to Le Mans
with hybrid technology is a big challenge, but it is also a real opportunity for all the drivers and I hope my recent Super GT experience
will be a benefit. It's a great feeling to be involved in this project and I am really motivated for this season."