Toyota Gazoo Racing will debut its hypercar on May 1st GR010 Hybrid in the 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, the first race of the 2021 FIA World Endurance, the WEC, which has the most emblematic race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After an intense pre-season testing program that passed through Portugal, more precisely at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portimão, the new GR010 Hybrid is getting closer and closer to its race debut.
The goals for the season are simple: Toyota wants to defend world titles and win the mythical 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fourth consecutive time. For this, the Japanese manufacturer will use this new hypercar and its team of drivers, which has remained unchanged.
For the fourth season, world champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López will remain behind the wheel of the GR010 Hybrid with number 7, while Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley, winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans do last year, they will share the controls of the GR010 Hybrid #8.
Preparations for the season will only be completed on the 26th and 27th of April, when a Prologue takes place at the legendary Belgian circuit, before the 6 hour race the following weekend. And this will be the first time the GR010 Hybrid will be on track with its main rivals, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus and Alpine.
What has changed?
Designed to race in the new “Le Mans Hypercar” (LMH) category, the Toyota GR010 Hybrid features a hybrid system that combines an electric generator-motor at the front (developed by AISIN AW and DESNSO) and a 3.5-liter V6 block, for a maximum combined power of 690 hp, with no restrictions on fuel use.
We have already explained, in more detail, the functioning of the hybrid system of the GR010 Hybrid, which you can read (or reread) in the related article (below):
It is important to remember that the predecessor of this model, the LMP1 TS050 Hybrid, weighed 162 kg less and had 1000 hp of power, although the fuel restrictions around effectively limited the maximum speeds.
For the start of the season, at Spa-Francorchamps, there are many ambitions, or this was a circuit where Toyota Gazoo Racing has achieved excellent results in recent years: since the first race at the WEC in 2013, it has already achieved five victories at this circuit.