#7, #8 and #9 TOYOTA TS050-HYBRID (LMP1)

Team President: Toshio Sato
Technical Director: Pascal Vasselon
Team Director: Rob Leupen
General Manager: Hisatake Murata
Locations: Cologne (GER) and Aichi (JPN)
www.toyotahybridracing.com

2011 ILMC classification: DNC

2012 FIA WEC classification: 2nd, World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship (96 pts – 3 wins)

2013 FIA WEC classification: 2nd, World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship (142.5 pts – 2 wins)

2014 FIA WEC classification: 1st, World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship (289 pts – 5 wins)

2015 FIA WEC classification: 3rd, World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship (164 pts – 0 wins)

2016 FIA WEC classification: 3rd, World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship (229 pts – 1 win)

2017 FIA WEC results

6 Hours of Silverstone: 1st, Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima (GBR/CHE/JPN), #8 Toyota TS050-Hybrid; 23rd, Kobayashi/Conway/López (JPN/GBR/ARG), #7 Toyota TS050-Hybrid

WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: 1st, Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima (GBR/CHE/JPN), #8 Toyota TS050-Hybrid; 2nd, Kobayashi/Conway (JPN/GBR), #7 Toyota TS050-Hybrid; 5th, Sarrazin/Kunimoto/Lapierre (FRA/JPN/FRA), #9 Toyota TS050-Hybrid

Obsessed with winning Le Mans, Toyota completely reworked the TS040 Hybrid, rethinking the aerodynamics and improving the hybrid system. However, 2015 proved to be another disappointment as the car was clearly no match for its rivals. Its reliability could not make up for an obvious lack of performance. Toyota had to be content with just two top-three places in 2015, one of which was rather special: a final podium for two-time Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz before he retired from racing. Early in the season, preliminary work began on a new car for 2016, the TS050 Hybrid.

Out with supercapacitors and natural aspiration. In with lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, and a V6 turbo engine. On the other hand, the Japanese manufacturer retained the two brake energy recovery systems. At the season-opener, the new prototype was a few seconds slower in the qualifying sessions but considerably narrowed the gap as the race progressed. In the end, Silverstone was the scene of the first podium for the Toyota TS050 Hybrid and for Wurz’s replacement, former Toyota Formula One driver Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese driver, who raced an LMGTE Pro Ferrari at Le Mans in 2013, and codrivers Mike Conway and Stéphane Sarrazin moved up from third to second when the winning Audi was disqualified. Davidson, Buemi and Nakajima in the #5 were less fortunate. A puncture severely damaged the back of the car and the mechanics had to work hard to enable the team to finish 17th overall.

The sun shone at Spa, but the TS050 Hybrids were shrouded in gloom, both with engine problems. The #6 retired half way through the race. Kazuki Nakajima was in the lead in the sister car with two hours to go when all hopes of victory literally went up in smoke! Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima had covered more than 70% of the distance by the time the engine began to fail, and managed to complete the final lap to cross the finish line in 26th place.

A premonition of the dramatic climax to the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Perhaps, although no link was actually established between the two problems. Once again, Nakajima was leading the field as he embarked on his final lap. To everyone’s amazement, the Japanese driver then stopped a few yards after the line. Was he waiting for the sister car – placed third at that point – so that the two Toyota TS050 Hybrids could cross take the chequered flag together? No – he had no power! Nakajima tried for several minutes to revive his machine while the world held its breath. He eventually managed to cross the finish line, but too late. To be classified at Le Mans, the final lap must be completed in less than six minutes, whereas Nakajima’s final lap was timed at 11:53.815. The long-awaited victory at Le Mans had escaped Toyota’s grasp, along with the championship points. The #6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Stéphane Sarrazin claimed the runner-up spot, but the accompanying 36 points did little to heal the Japanese manufacturer’s pain.

Still groggy, Toyota attempted to bounce back in the following round at the Nürburgring, but neither of its cars could get into the mix. The #6 TS050 Hybrid spent more than five minutes in the pits after an engine component worked loose, and a cloud of smoke caused by a piece of the bodywork rubbing on a tyre engulfed the #5 car. Fortunately, Toyota managed to redress the balance a little in Mexico and the United States, with a podium for Conway/Kobayashi/Sarrazin, before finally returning to the highest step with the same trio at its home race in Fuji. The Japanese manufacturer was never able to chink the armour of Porsche and Audi in the qualifiers and concluded the 2016 season with this solitary win. Placed third in the final standings, almost 100 points behind the champion Porsche, Toyota had to react before the new season.

At the Monza Prologue, the 2017 version of the TS050 Hybrid showed its muscle, clocking the fastest time, before focusing on the 6 Hours of Silverstone. Unlike Porsche, Toyota opted for an aero package that was better suited to the British circuit. The two Japanese cars closed out the front row of the grid, but newcomer José María López – three-time World Touring Car Champion – in the #7 car was caught out by a sudden shower on his first stint and crashed heavily. The resulting safety car period also wiped out the lead built up by the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid. An outstanding performance by Sébastien Buemi in the final stint saw the #8 car clinch victory to the joy of Buemi’s teammates Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima. The team’s mechanics had managed to get the sister car back on the track to finish the race well down the field.

In the season’s second round – the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – the #7 car dominated proceedings until a Full-Course Yellow at the wrong time put paid to the hopes of Mike Conway, who had had an outstanding race, and Kamui Kobayashi (the pair had been forced to share the driving duties between them after the team’s doctors had preferred to leave López on the sidelines to recover from his Silverstone misadventure). Forced to make an extra fuel stop, the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid crew left their slower teammates in the #8 car to take the glory – the second win on the bounce in 2017 and the Japanese constructor’s first one-two since 2014. The third Toyota prototype entered in Belgium, in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was fitted with an aero package specially designed for the French marathon. The #9 was therefore never in the mix, despite Sarrazin clocking the fastest lap of the weekend, and crossed the line in fifth place after a tough début for Kunimoto. A few hours before the official entry list was revealed, Toyota announced that López would be switching cars with Sarrazin, who will be reunited with his teammates from last year in the #7 car. With its three-car entry, Toyota has made its intentions clear for Le Mans where anything less than victory is not an option.

Photo: Pascal Saivet, Vision Sport Agency