TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to get back to winning ways when it makes the short journey to Belgium next week (7 May) 2022) for the second round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
The World Champions endured a difficult start to the season at Sebring last month, with second place for the #8 car, driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, bringing an unbroken winning streak for the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar to an end.
“It’s always exciting to race at Spa so I can’t wait to be back there with our GR010 HYBRID,” commented Hartley. “We made a solid start to the season on the #8 car with a podium in Sebring but we’re looking to be closer to the front next week. It’s been a few weeks since the start of the season and we’ve used that time productively to get ready for Spa, with a test at Portimao and plenty of work back at the factory. So we’re ready; now we just need to see what the famous Spa weather has in store for us.”
That was the only GR010 HYBRID to reach the chequered flag following a heavy accident for the #7 car of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López. The reigning drivers’ World Champions will have a completely new car for the Spa race.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing therefore travels 120km from the team’s Cologne headquarters to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit determined to deliver an improved result in the final race before the highlight of the WEC season, the Le Mans 24 Hours.
As well as being one of the home races for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in WEC, Spa is also a happy hunting ground for the team. Since its first WEC race there in 2013, the team has won six times and is aiming for a sixth consecutive victory in Belgium this weekend.
After an impressive debut race at Sebring, on his first visit to that circuit, Ryo returns to a track on which he has already tasted success. During his European Le Mans Series career, Ryo finished third at Spa in 2016 and second a year later.
WEC will be the first major series to race at Spa since parts of the 7.004km circuit were modified to enhance safety. One of the most prominent changes comes at the fearsome Eau Rouge and Raidillon combination, which has been resurfaced and now features bigger run-off areas.
The drivers will experience the updated circuit for the first time on Thursday, with a 90-minute practice session in the late afternoon. A busy Friday sees two further practice sessions prior to an evening qualifying, which decides the grid for Saturday’s race, beginning at 1pm local time.
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