The new blue and white livery of the Toyota TS030 Hybrid was the surprise of the Test Day on the 3rd of June and the performance of the car was immediately evident. The Japanese manufacturer arrived yesterday with sights set high, an amition expressed by three of its drivers Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Lapierre and Sebastien Buemi.

Stéphane Sarrazin (Toyota TS030 Hybrid #8) : "I'm in great shape, very happy to be here and looking forward to driving. Although I was not able to do the test day because of my bike accident, I was not frustrated, there are things that happen in training. It was very positive, my team-mates drove well, they were able to push hard and the car was performing. I really want to take my turn on the track, because the fact of seeing my team-mates is already reassuring. I think the car is very beautiful in blue, but the key is that it performs, which is the case! This new design has a small taste of Peugeot 908, especially with the number 8! However, a page has been turned after five years at Peugeot. "

Nicolas Lapierre (Toyota TS030 Hybrid #7) : "We've known for quite some time that the car was going from red to blue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I think the blue suits it quite well and is actually a bit like the Peugeot 908. We experienced no problems in the Test Day. We believe that we can be in pole position, but we expect a difficult weekend of weather. The main objective is to prepare a car that is good in all conditions, and I think we're ready to go to the finish of the 24 hours. "

Sébastien Buemi (Toyota TS030 Hybrid #8) : "I was at the Test Day on the 3rd of June 3 to make development, I was not thinking of my ten laps required but more that we should not have any problem with the car. During the first few laps, it felt really weird to driver with a roof over my head, but you get used very quickly. It didn't give me a problem after three or four laps. From what we saw in performance, pole position is not an unrealistic goal. But we will see how things go Wednesday. If you are on a dry track, I think we'll quickly run faster than the pole position last year. The forecast is rain, and it will be important to keep the car on the track. It will make me even more new things to discover, so I will have learned everything from my first year! "

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo : LE MANS CITY CENTRE (SARTHE), SCRUTINEERING AND REGITRATION FOR THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, 11th JUNE 2012. The arrival of the two Toyota TS030 Hybrids.