TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s challenge for the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours got under way with a productive official test day at the Circuit de la Sarthe. With only one chance to evaluate the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar at Le Mans before race week, the test day is critical to preparations as the team aims for a fifth successive victory and it made efficient use of the two four-hour sessions.
Gathering data on car and tyre behaviour was the top priority, meaning single lap times were not a consideration. Nevertheless, last year’s winners Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López set the fastest lap time of the day, 3mins 29.896secs, in their #7 GR010 HYBRID. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in the #8 car, were third quickest, just 0.594secs behind.
“It was great to see the fans at scrutineering after a couple of years without this tradition,” commented Hartley. “The atmosphere is already building one week before the race and it felt nice to be back on track at Le Mans. We spent a lot of time in the last months preparing for this.
“It’s clear that the GR010 HYBRID was made for this track, where it feels most at home, so it is always a pleasure to drive it here. It looks very competitive at the front and we are in the mix.”
The first team members arrived at the track more than a week ago to install garage and working facilities. The complete crew has been on site since Friday, when the cars were prepared for Saturday’s scrutineering in the city centre, which took place in front of an enthusiastic crowd after a two-year absence.
Following several days of hot weather and thunderstorms, the test day began at 9am on Sunday in cooler temperatures under a grey sky. Mike and Ryo had the honour of taking their respective cars on to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time in 2022 to begin an intensive programme of preparation.
The 13.626km circuit consists partly of public roads which were only closed on Sunday morning, so track conditions evolved significantly during the day as debris was cleared off the surface. This was gradually replaced by fresh tyre rubber that offered more grip.
The 2022-specification GR010 HYBRID, which features different wheel sizes and aerodynamic adjustments compared to its World Champion predecessor, had never driven at La Sarthe prior to test day. Drivers and team worked relentlessly to compare and optimise aerodynamic, mechanical and control settings.
The #7 crew finished the morning on top thanks to a lap from José. Brendon’s best effort in the #8 GR010 HYBRID put them third, with Ryo experiencing the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar at Le Mans for the first time in real life, although his preparation included testing on the driving simulator.
The #8 driver line-up was completed in the afternoon when Sébastien joined following his Formula E race in Indonesia on Saturday. Sunshine returned to La Sarthe for the second session and the team’s programme continued to progress smoothly as the focus switched to tyre compound comparisons.
The #7 car was again fastest following a lap from José with Ryo’s lap in the #8 achieving third place. By the end of the day, the two GR010 HYBRID Hypercars had completed a combined 2,861km over 210 laps, with both completing more laps than any others in the 62-car field.
On-track action will resume on Wednesday with five hours of free practice over two sessions, plus one hour of qualifying.
Morning Session:
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, 3mins 31.626secs, 50 laps
2nd #708 Glickenhaus Racing (Pla/Dumas/Derani), +0.109secs, 26 laps
3rd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, +0.351secs, 53 laps
4th #709 Glickenhaus Racing (Briscoe/Westbrook/Mailleux), +0.996secs, 39 laps
5th #36 Alpine Elf Team (Negaro/Lapierre/Vaxiviere), +1.167secs, 41 laps
6th #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Stevens), +2.338secs, 49 laps
Afternoon Session:
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, 3min 29.896secs, 54 laps
2nd #708 Glickenhaus Racing (Pla/Dumas/Derani), +0.208secs, 51 laps
3rd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, +0.594secs, 53 laps
4th #709 Glickenhaus Racing (Briscoe/Westbrook/Mailleux), +0.926secs, 40 laps
5th #22 United Autosports USA (Hanson/Albuquerque/Owen),+2.203secs, 48 laps
6th #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Stevens), +2.486secs, 45 laps
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