FIA World Endurance Championship title challengers, Toyota Racing, today unveiled the revised TS030 Hybrid car which will spearhead the team’s quest for victory this season. Following a successful roll-out earlier this month, the team begins the first full test of the 2013-specification TS030 Hybrid at the Paul Ricard track in southern France tomorrow.
After an impressive debut in the WEC in 2012, which included three victories in just six races, the Japanese manufacturer returns with an ambition to win both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the WEC title.
Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima team up again in the No.7 TS030 Hybrid, while the No.8 will compete outside of Le Mans for the first time with Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin, and Sébastien Buemi driving.
The team will again utilise the TOYOTA HYBRID System - Racing powertrain, developed exclusively for motorsport by TOYOTA’s Motor Sport Division in Higashifuji. A unique super capacitor-based hybrid system delivers 300hp of boost automatically, on top of the 530hp generated by a 3.4litre, normally-aspirated V8 petrol engine.
Ahead of a completely new development for 2014 due to regulation changes, TOYOTA’s Motor Sport Division in Higashifuji has fine-tuned this year’s powertrain to improve power, efficiency, management of component usage and reliability.
The race-winning TS030 HYBRID chassis has also been modified for the upcoming season, with increased performance, reliability and serviceability the priorities. TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (TMG), which designs, builds and operates the TS030 HYBRID, has used its extensive R&D testing facilities and experienced engineers to deliver the next evolution.
A revised aerodynamic package, including an updated monocoque, will deliver improved performance whilst minimising the impact of updated regulations in 2013 which increase the minimum weight for manufacturer LMP1 cars by 15kg.
Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President:
What are your feelings ahead of TOYOTA Racing’s second season in WEC? “I am very excited by the new season and I cannot wait for it to start. We achieved more than we expected in 2012 but this only motivates us to push harder and enjoy more success. I am eager to see how the updated TS030 HYBRID performs in race conditions and it’s normal to also be a little tense before a season starts. We are competing against very tough opposition and we knew from the start of this project that we have to perform at our top level to achieve our goals. We believe we have made strong progress with the car but we will not know if it is enough until the chequered flag falls at Le Mans. My dream is to see a TS030 HYBRID crossing the line first.”
Is it realistic to think about the Le Mans and WEC titles? “We took three out of six WEC races in 2012, and led Le Mans as well, so we showed not only potential, but solid results too. As a team we made big progress last year; we are still developing as a team but we can be proud of our hard work and fast learning. I believe it is realistic to target both titles but it will certainly not be easy; clearly we face an extremely strong competitor. It is a big challenge to become number one. We have huge respect for Audi’s achievements and abilities, so we expect an exciting competition in WEC this year.”
Have you enjoyed your return to endurance racing? “Personally I have many memories of endurance racing, particularly of being engine engineer on the TS010 in 1992 when we finished first at Monza and second at Le Mans. So it was good to be back in the world of endurance racing last year. We enjoyed the competition and the atmosphere in the paddock, plus some fantastic race weekends in front of great crowds. I’m looking forward to more of the same this year.”
Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director:
How significant is the update to the TS030 HYBRID? “There is a major regulation change in 2014 so this year’s car has to be an evolution of our initial concept. The obvious target is to fix all the little issues we have found during the last season. The very first one is that the 2012 car, being a laboratory car, was able to accept front and rear hybrid systems, so we have redesigned the monocoque to optimize it without the front motor. Last year’s performance was very satisfying and we felt we ticked most boxes so there has been no concept change, just refinement and optimization of the 2012 car.”
What was the reason to retain all six drivers? “We thoroughly enjoyed working with Alex, Nicolas, Kazuki, Anthony, Stéphane and Sébastien in 2012 and their performances more than justified our choice. Retaining the same drivers was an easy choice. As well as showing impressive speed and great team spirit, they all contributed to developing the car and team during our first season. With a limited testing programme, their experience and dedication was a major factor in helping us win races in our first season of WEC. We cannot imagine a stronger driver line-up with which to approach next season.”
Fiona Miller
From Toyota Racing press release
Photo: CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD (LE CASTELLET, FRANCE), 19TH FEBRUARY 2013, PRIVATE TESTING. The new Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1 challenger.
