TOYOTA RACING returns to action following a seven-week summer break, aiming to reinforce its title challenge at the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday 6 September.
With two wins so far this season – including the Le Mans 24 Hours – TOYOTA RACING leads the manufacturers’ World Championship going into round five of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
At the halfway point in the season, the #7 TR010 HYBRID crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are tied on points at the top of the drivers’ standings. Team-mates Sébastien Buemi, Kiwi driver Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa are still in the title fight in their #8 TR010 HYBRID, 19 points behind.
“Austin is a great place for a race, we all really enjoy being there,” commented Hartley. It was particularly good to test there a few weeks ago, especially because our car has evolved since last year’s race. Hopefully that gives us a useful head start in terms of set-ups and tyres. São Paulo wasn’t an easy week for us but we’re working hard to maximise our car and get a better result at COTA.”
TOYOTA RACING is determined to improve on the previous round, when neither TR010 HYBRID scored points in São Paulo.
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is, like the previous round at Interlagos, an anti-clockwise track. One of its most striking features is the steep climb to Turn 1, followed by a sequence of fast, sweeping corners. The demanding 5.513km track also includes one of the heaviest braking zones of the season, when cars decelerate from over 300km/h to around 60km/h for Turn 12. From eight races at COTA, the team has recorded seven podium finishes and one pole position, however it is yet to taste victory there.
To accelerate preparations for this year’s race, TOYOTA RACING conducted a two-day test – featuring all six race drivers – in Austin in late July. Data gathered during the test will help engineers and drivers optimise set-ups and strategies for the race week, which begins with free practice on Friday 4 September. Qualifying takes place at 3.40pm local time (10.40pm CEST) on Saturday, while the six-hour race starts at 1pm (8pm CEST) on Sunday.
Alongside the track action, visitors to COTA will have the opportunity to meet some of TOYOTA RACING’s drivers at an autograph session on Saturday at 5.10pm in the fan zone. Meanwhile, TOYOTA’s hydrogen technology will be on show at the University of Texas at Austin display in the fan zone.
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