TOYOTA RACING reached a milestone in its Le Mans 24 Hours challenge when its two TR010 HYBRID Hypercars completed the official test day to accelerate preparations for the 94th edition of the legendary French race.
A productive yet challenging day included set-up and tyre analysis. A morning incident for the #8 TR010 HYBRID of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa necessitated extensive repairs. Nevertheless, they finished the day second fastest, while Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were eighth in their #7 TR010 HYBRID.
“It was a solid day and nice to be back at Le Mans with the TR010 HYBRID, which felt really good today,” commented Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8). “The main target was to assess the tyres, and we tried all three compounds. We learned a lot about the tyres, the car systems, and the set-ups.
“It looks positive and we seem to have made a step compared to last year. The accident in the morning was really unfortunate. I couldn’t do anything about it, but it’s better to get the bad luck out of the way before the race. The mechanics did a great job and allowed us to go through our full programme, so hats off to them.”
The high-speed 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe, which includes sections on public roads, is a unique challenge for engineers and drivers. The team worked intensively during six hours of testing to adjust set-ups for the demanding combination of long flat-out sections, heavy braking and high-speed corners.
Test day began with a three-hour first practice, held in dry conditions and with air temperatures of 16-19°C. The session ended early for the #8 TR010 HYBRID when it was hit by a spinning LMP2 car at turn three with 25 minutes left. The resulting damage to the left and rear bodywork forced Ryō to stop at the side of the track.
Mechanics worked quickly to repair the #8 in the two-and-a-half hours between sessions so it could take to the track at the start of second practice. This three-hour session was completed without incident, in slightly warmer temperatures.
In addition to the race drivers, Esteban Masson completed four laps in the #7 TR010 HYBRID in the morning session. The 21-year-old Frenchman is part of TOYOTA’s driver development activities and earned valuable experience behind the wheel of a Hypercar on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Action resumes on Wednesday with free practice and qualifying. Pole position and the leading grid places are determined by two Hyperpole sessions on Thursday evening, either side of further free practice sessions. The race begins at 4pm local time on Saturday 13 June.
Le Mans 24 Hours Test Day – Free Practice 1
1st #101 Cadillac WTR 3mins 27.011secs
2nd #35 Alpine Endurance Team +0.328secs
3rd #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota +0.832secs
4th #009 Aston Martin THOR Team +1.075secs
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse +1.280secs
6th #8 TOYOTA RACING +1.308secs
7th #7 TOYOTA RACING +1.457secs
Le Mans 24 Hours Test Day – Free Practice 2
1st #007 Aston Martin THOR Team 3mins 26.293secs
2nd #8 TOYOTA RACING +0.108secs
3rd #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota +0.560secs
4th #35 Alpine Endurance Team +0.645secs
5th #36 Alpine Endurance Team +0.724secs
6th #101 Cadillac WTR +0.795secs
8th #7 TOYOTA RACING +0.874secs
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