A solid start for Toyota.
The new Hybrid Toyota TS030 was impressive at its first official appearance with the fourth and fifth fastest times of the Test Day. Five drivers were present, Stephane Sarrazin was being rested to recover from a fall from a bicycle. Alexander Wurz, car #7 (entered in the FIA World Endurance Championship), and Sébastien Buemi, Car #8, were fastest although Anthony Davidson had led the way early in the morning session.
The performance of the #8 was all the more remarkable because the shake-down of the car was not until until the Friday before Test Day: So far, all the private test sessions have been conducted with one car. Both TS030 immediately showed a high level of performance and were very active in track, completing (respectively) 83 laps and 73 laps during the day. The main objective, was for the two drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima to do their 10 qualifying laps. A task which was completed by the end of the morning session.
Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President: “Today was a significant step for us because it was our first chance to see the car on track against our opposition at Le Mans. It’s hard to judge lap times but it certainly strengthens our racing spirit. Overall we are satisfied to complete a full day’s running with both cars without any significant issue; the only interruptions came with some minor bodywork damage. Unfortunately we only had five drivers with us following Stéphane’s accident. But he’s an experienced driver so we have no concerns; he’ll be on top form for the race I’m sure.”
Nicolas Lapierre, Driver car #7: "It was good to see TS030 Hybrid on track today and it was particularly interesting to try the hybrid system in the Mulsanne Straight. We did not encounter any major problems and we could test different tires, different settings and the aero and mechanical hybrid system. The accumulation of miles away was very important to us because it was our only opportunity to race at this track before the race week. So far, the team did a great job and we have achieved the objectives set. It is difficult to compare the lap times, however, the most important thing is that we are where we hoped to be. We can expect a very interesting race. "
Anthony Davidson, Driver car #8: “Our program went well and we achieved what we wanted to. Personally it was great to be back at Le Mans, especially with this new car and the hybrid technology. The car responded well and I felt we had pretty good speed which allowed us to set some competitive lap times. It is nice for all the team to finally get to Le Mans and see two cars in action; it’s a good reward for all the effort they have put in. The TS030 HYBRID is already pretty well balanced and gave me confidence to push early in the day so that’s a good platform for us heading into race week; first impressions are encouraging.”
Dave Davies (quotes from the release of Toyota Hybrid Racing)
Photo: LE MANS (Sarthe, FRANCE), 24 HOURS CIRCUIT, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, Sunday, June 3, 2012, TEST DAY. The two Toyotas ran without significant incident at test day.