At Test Day tomorrow, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima will be more than happy to give up some of their time at the wheel to their teammate, Fernando Alonso. The Spanish ace has to get to grips with the atypical, demanding Le Mans circuit and learn how to handle traffic situations. Buemi is not unduly worried as he is astounded by the two-time F1 world champion’s adaptability.

Buemi says: “Tomorrow, Fernando will drive a little more than Kazuki and I. It’s understandable as he’s not familiar with the track although he has watched a few hours of onboard camera footage that the team sent to him. I have no worries about his ability to manage traffic. It’s true that experience matters but, for me, it’s more a question of feeling. It’s not something you can really learn. You need to have a sixth sense and know where to position yourself to overtake. Fernando has a different outlook on systems and procedures and that sort of thing. He is up to scratch and has learned very quickly although the car is possibly more complex than a Formula One. It’s awesome!”​

The Toyota Gazoo Racing machine was at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit last week for two final days of testing before taking on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans. “In Spa, we honed the parts we’ll be using for the race,” Buemi explains. “It was one way of checking that everything was working properly. We do it every year. As you can imagine, reliability is the most important thing for us. We have nonetheless been working on different modes for bringing the car back to the pits if there’s a problem.”

Reliability is indeed the watchword. At the FIA WEC Prologue at the Paul Ricard circuit in April, Toyota Gazoo Racing conducted a 36-hour endurance test!

The Japanese manufacturer is not leaving anything to chance in its quest for a maiden victory.

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), BUGATTI CIRCUIT, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TEST DAY TECHNICAL CHECKS. Toyota TS050 Hybrid driver Sébastien Buemi.