British racers join Toyota Gazoo Racing for Hypercar rookie test
Shortly after completing the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with a one-two victory in the 8 Hours of Bahrain on Saturday, Toyota Gazoo Racing were back in action for five hours of testing with the No7 GR010 Hybrid.
This year’s rookie test session featured a pair of endurance racing champions. British drivers Ben Barnicoat, 26, and Jack Hawksworth, 32. Together they won the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro title at the wheel of a Lexus RC F GT3 from Vasser Sullivan Racing.
They were joined by rising American driver Josh Pierson, 17, who was selected by WEC to be the series’ official Hypercar rookie as a reward for his strong performances in the LMP2 category, where he finished the season fifth alongside his No23 United Autosports team-mates.
All three Hypercar rookies prepared for the test with time on the driving simulator at the team’s base in Cologne, Germany, last month. Within the first few minutes of the morning session in Bahrain all had their first taste of the real GR010 Hybrid via a single installation lap.
Longer stints soon followed and the three newcomers spent around 20 minutes each behind the wheel in the two-hour morning session, completing 10 laps apiece. After a break for lunch and engineering debriefs, the day resumed with a three-hour test in the afternoon which saw all three Hypercar rookies clock up more laps. Pierson completed two further 10-lap stints to take his total laps to 30, while both Barnicoat and Hawksworth did single 10-lap runs.
The conclusion of the rookie test marks the end of the official track action for the 2023 WEC season. Preparations for next year will now intensify at the Higashi-Fuji and Cologne technical centres as the team prepare to defend their World Championships against a grid of even more Hypercar manufacturers.
Driver quotes
Ben Barnicoat: “It is not every day that you get the opportunity to drive a car of this calibre with a team at this level. The first thing that impressed and surprised me was how good the braking is, which comes from the hybrid system. The car stopped really quickly and then there was the power; as soon as you get the steering wheel straight and push hard on the acceleration, it takes off. I felt I got up to speed quickly and that’s thanks to the day at the simulator, which was very accurate and well correlated to real life.”
Jack Hawksworth: “It was super exciting and completely different to what I’m used to coming from racing in IMSA with the Lexus RC F GT3. The GR010 Hybrid has so much more power than I am familiar with, it’s a bit GT-style but with more power. There are so many tools and things you change on this car to adjust the handling, so there was a lot to learn. It has been amazing to see a world-class team working, how organised they are and how everything is put together.”
Josh Pierson: “I haven’t raced anything with a hybrid system before, so this was my first experience and I enjoyed it. The most impressive aspects are the braking and acceleration, plus there is more downforce than we have on an LMP2 car. For me, the test was about learning and working with the team, not pushing to the limit. I am at the start of my career, so this is a great opportunity to learn how a World Championship-winning Hypercar team operates and get a feel for how they run a programme.”
ENDS
