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Toyota teases 2026 updates in bid to regain former glories

For Toyota – by some margin the most successful manufacturer in FIA World Endurance Championship history – the 2025 campaign has been a fallow one, with scarce reason for celebration. The Japanese marque is fully focused on turning that trend around in 2026...

Toyota teases 2026 updates in bid to regain former glories
@crédit : DPPI
01/10/2025

The best-placed TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hybrid prototype finished a distant seventh on home soil in last weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji – a race the team has won nine times out of 12 since FIA WEC’s inception. That marked an unprecedented seven consecutive rounds in which the brand has now failed to reach the rostrum.

Heading into next month’s Bahrain season finale, the #7 entry piloted by Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway sits just seventh in the championship standings, six spots ahead of the #8 car crewed by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa. In the Manufacturers’ classification, seven-time title-winning Toyota is fourth, almost 100 points adrift of table-topping Ferrari.

The GR010 Hybrid first joined the FIA WEC grid in 2021, meaning it is approaching the end of its sixth year in the series. With the advent of newer models from the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac amongst others, Toyota has resolved that the time has come to deploy one of its ‘Evo Jokers’ to implement a raft of aerodynamic upgrades to the car in an effort to address its weaknesses and get back on terms with its rivals. 

Following a programme of CFD and wind tunnel development, testing is due to begin this month.

“We will introduce an update to our car for next season,” confirmed a team spokesperson. “Its appearance has been adjusted by updating the front and rear bodywork. This is intended to align better with Toyota’s latest road car design language and create a more modern look. 

“These changes also influence air flow, and we have made the modifications whilst aiming for consistent aerodynamic performance across all circuits and conditions.”

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Written by
Russell ATKINS
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