The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) got back on track following its summer break as TOYOTA RACING completed the opening practice sessions for the Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, Texas.
The team leads the manufacturers’ World Championship going into round five of the season, when it aims for its first victory at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa ended the opening day 12th fastest in their #8 TR010 HYBRID, 1.091secs behind the pace-setting Aston Martin, although the final standings did not reflect the progress made during two encouraging practice sessions on Friday.
“It was a pretty smooth day and we’re all quite happy with the car,” commented Hartley. “It looks like one lap pace is a bit tricky, but on the long runs we seem to be in the mix and more competitive than São Paulo. Now we’re trying to find some extra performance overnight to ensure we’re in a good position to fight at the front on Sunday.”
Le Mans winners Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, who are tied on points at the top of the drivers’ standings, were 15th in their #7 TR010 HYBRID.
First practice began late in the morning, with temperatures already hitting 30°C. The team built on the set-up work done during its July test at COTA by focusing on control settings and mechanical adjustments. The session, which was briefly interrupted by a full-course yellow, ended with both TR010 HYBRIDs in the top six. Nyck and Ryō set the fastest laps of the session for their respective cars.
Conditions were even hotter for second practice. However, action was delayed by a red flag in the opening moments before both cars could continue a programme of race preparation. This included further analysis of the Michelin tyres, which experience the highest energy levels of the season at COTA. A productive session saw Kamui and Ryō recorded the best laps for their cars.
With data from two busy sessions to analyse, the team’s engineers will work hard to find improvements for performance and balance before Saturday morning’s third practice, the final preparation before qualifying at 3.40pm local time (10.40pm CEST).
Lone Star Le Mans – Free Practice 1
1st #51 Ferrari AF Corse 1min 53.824secs
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse +0.205secs
3rd #36 Alpine Endurance Team +0.399secs
4th #8 TOYOTA RACING +0.497secs
5th #35 Alpine Endurance Team +0.512secs
6th #7 TOYOTA RACING +0.571secs
Lone Star Le Mans – Free Practice 2
1st #007 Aston Martin THOR Team 1min 52.567secs
2nd #35 Alpine Endurance Team +0.122secs
3rd #17 Genesis Magma Racing +0.244secs
4th #36 Alpine Endurance Team +0.287secs
5th #83 AF Corse +0.433secs
6th #50 Ferrari AF Corse +0.454secs
12th #8 TOYOTA RACING +1.091secs
15th #7 TOYOTA RACING +1.267secs
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