TOYOTA GAZOO Racing worked flat-out during the final two days of testing ahead of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship season, during an intense and incident-packed Prologue at Spa-Francorchamps on Monday and Tuesday.
“It’s been great to finally see the WEC paddock alive again and to see all the cars on track,” commented Hartley. “We had nice sunny weather for the two days in the Prologue; I hope it stays like that even though we all know how the Spa weather can be. We have spent many days testing and preparing but it was the first time we experienced the GR010 HYBRID in traffic; it was nice to get in the flow. I’m looking forward to getting the season and the new Hypercar era under way.”
The new GR010 HYBRID Hypercar hit the track against this year’s opposition for the first time on Monday when, as always with a new car and new regulations, the team had a long task list to work through. This was primarily aimed at improving handling and set-ups in preparation for the first race of the 2021 season, the Total 6 of Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday.
World champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López were at the wheel of their #7 GR010 HYBRID, while last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours winners Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley drove the #8 car.
Following an extensive testing programme over the winter, firstly to learn the characteristics of the GR010 HYBRID and then to begin fine-tuning the settings, this week’s Prologue was the official start to the 2021 WEC season. It was also the first time the new Hypercar had shared a track with competitors from all classes.
A total of 35 cars participated in the test, covering a range of machinery from the Alpine LMP1, which will also contest the Hypercar category, to LMP2 prototypes and road-based GT cars, all with different levels of performance.
Monday’s test session saw the #7 delayed by hydraulic and electrical issues which caused it to remain in the garage for most of the day whilst parts were replaced. The #8 car had a busier day, conducting tyre tests and set-up comparisons on the GR010 HYBRID’s first visit to Spa-Francorchamps.
After a tough first day for the #7 GR010 HYBRID, Tuesday went better, with all drivers able to get behind the wheel and contribute to the team’s programme of set-up and tyre development, despite time spent in the garage for repairs following contact with a GT car.
The LMP2 field, was able to record lap times in the same range as the Hypercar category throughout the two days and ended the test with the fastest times, reflecting the different performance window of the Hypercars compared to their LMP1 predecessors.
The team remains at Spa-Francorchamps and will spend Wednesday preparing the GR010 HYBRIDs for the first competitive sessions of the 2021 WEC season, with practice beginning on Thursday evening and throughout Friday prior to qualifying. The green flag will wave on the first race of the Hypercar era at 1.30pm CET on 1 May.
Prologue combined results (both days):
1/ #26 G-Drive (Rusinov/Colapinto/De Vries) 2min 4.168secs 233 laps
2/ #22 United Autosports (Hanson/Scherer/Albuquerque) +0.116secs 197 laps
3/ #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Davidson) +0.414secs 218 laps
4/ #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.501secs 205 laps
5/ #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.540secs 85 laps
6/ #29 Racing Team Nederland (v.Eerd/v.d.Garde/v.Uitert) +0.607secs 138 laps
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