Final 2019-2020 Testing Complete For Toyota Gazoo Racing
World Champions and Le Mans winners Toyota Gazoo Racing completed successful preparations for the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship at a two-day prologue test session held this week at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.
All the WEC teams were present for the traditional pre-season event, which took place just five weeks after the 2018-2019 series concluded at Le Mans. The new season will begin on 1 September at Silverstone.
The prologue marked the public debut of the revised double Le Mans winning Toyota TS050 Hybrid race car, which features an updated aerodynamics package. Few mechanical changes have been made, and the monocoque is the same as the design introduced in 2016, so as expected the car proved very reliable over the 16 hours of testing.
In hot, sunny conditions, the two Toyotas completed a combined 917 laps (2,652 miles) in a programme of aerodynamics and tyre evaluations, and tests of different settings for the hybrid powertrain. It was also the team’s first opportunity to assess the impact of recent changes to the racing regulations which have increased the car’s minimum weight by 40kg.
By the end of the two days, the TS050 Hybrids, which won seven of eight races last season, were at the top of the timing sheets, thanks to a best lap of 1min 29.141sec from José María López in the No7 car. Kazuki Nakajima’s lap put the No8 car, which he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, second just 0.046sec behind, while the third-placed #1 Rebellion car was 0.267secs further back.
As well as the revised car, Toyota Gazoo Racing also brought a new driver to the test. Frenchman Thomas Laurent made his first public appearance as the test and reserve driver and completed 78 laps with stints in both cars.
The sessions completed the team’s on-track preparations, with no further testing planned before the Silverstone race.
Mike Conway, who will again pilot the No7 car with Kamui Kobayashi and López, said: “It’s been a while since I’ve driven here in Barcelona so it was nice to be back at this track. It has been a hot few days which makes it tricky from a drivers’ perspective but we got through it and did as many laps as possible to get ourselves ready for Silverstone. We learned a lot about the updated car and all went smoothly so I think we are well prepared for the first race.”
ENDS
