TOYOTA GAZOO Racing completed an intensive and effective Prologue test at Lusail International Circuit to accelerate its preparations for the Qatar 1812km, the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The team has won six consecutive manufacturers’ World Championships and begins the new season aiming to extend that run whilst also adding the drivers’ title and another Le Mans 24 Hours crown.
The annual Prologue test marked the first time for the 2025 grid, comprising 36 cars from 13 manufacturers, to appear on track together, and included 14 hours of running across two days.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing focused its energy throughout the two days on enhancing the performance and consistency of its two GR010 HYBRIDs, utilising a driver-first approach to set-up and strategy adjustments. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, and Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, completed a combined 4,291 kilometres over 792 laps. They contributed insights and gathered data which will be used to maximise car and tyre performance for next week’s race.
“It was beautiful to see all the cars on track for the first time this year,” commented Hartley. “We had a smooth test, and we can be satisfied with our two days. We had no mechanical issues, and we worked well as a crew on both cars. We are not the fastest right now and I doubt we will be, but we are trying hard to extract all the car’s potential so we can score as many points as possible in the race.”
The Prologue began on Thursday at midday with a first session dedicated to establishing baseline settings and adjusting mechanical set-ups. All six drivers recorded their first laps of Lusail International Circuit since a pre-season test there in December. In the evening, the team’s focus switched to analysing the medium and hard Michelin tyre compounds available in Qatar.
The team put learnings from the opening day into practice on Saturday, which began at lunchtime with a three-hour test, extended by an hour due to a lengthy red flag period. Mechanical set-ups and tyre behaviour were assessed further, and these efforts continued in the evening session, with an increased focus on race preparation.
Engineers and drivers worked intensively together throughout the two days to refine car performance, while mechanics also practiced pit stops to optimise human performance for the race, when each Hypercar typically visits the pits around 10 times.
Mechanics will now rebuild the GR010 HYBRIDs while engineers and drivers analyse car performance to find improvements based on the information gained in the Prologue. Elsewhere in the coming days, drivers and team members will also support local Toyota initiatives in Qatar which bring the excitement of motorsports – as well as the iconic GR range of sportscars – to a wider audience.
Two 90-minute free practice sessions kick off the race week on Wednesday, including one which ends after sunset. The starting grid will be determined in qualifying and Hyperpole on Thursday (5.40pm local, 3.40pm CET) while the race starts at 2pm (midday CET) on Friday 28 February.
Prologue Test 1 (Position, #, Team, Drivers, Time, Laps)
1st #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) 1min 41.673secs 51 laps
2nd #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +0.295secs 49 laps
3rd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.515secs 62 laps
4th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen)+0.522secs 68 laps
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.626secs 56 laps
6th #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +1.077secs 56 laps
10th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.641secs 70 laps
15th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.991secs 78 laps
Prologue Test 2 (Position, #, Team, Drivers, Time, Laps)
1st #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) 1min 39.575secs 100 laps
2nd #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +0.213secs 103 laps
3rd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.226secs 108 laps
4th #5 Porsche Penske (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet) +0.298secs 83 laps
5th #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +0.689secs 116 laps
6th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.779secs 106 laps
8th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.132secs 126 laps
11th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.722secs 121 laps
Prologue Test 3 (Position, #, Team, Drivers, Time, Laps)
1st #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Vanthoor/Campbell) 1min 40.428secs 65 laps
2nd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.251secs 90 laps
3rd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.294secs 92 laps
4th #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +0.349secs 87 laps
5th #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +0.540secs 79 laps
6th #5 Porsche Penske (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet ) +0.843secs 63 laps
13th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.452secs 87 laps
14th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.703secs 83 laps
Prologue Test 4 (Position, #, Team, Drivers, Time, Laps)
1st #20 BMW M Team WRT (Rast/Frijns/Van der Linde) 1min 38.971secs 104 laps
2nd #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +0.145secs 107 laps
3rd #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +0.170secs 94 laps
4th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen) +0.282secs 100 laps
5th #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Lynn/Nato/Stevens) +0.325secs 107 laps
6th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.396secs 104 laps
8th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.578secs 111 laps
10th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.157secs 116 laps
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