Toyota Gazoo Racing head home to Fuji
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010 Hybrid Hypercar will make its home debut when the team compete in the 6 Hours of Fuji this weekend. The penultimate round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) marks the return of the series to the Japanese circuit for the first time since 2019.
Toyota Gazoo Racing are seeking a fifth consecutive victory at Fuji and consolidation of their 15-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship.
The 2022 Le Mans winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the No8 GR010 Hybrid were runners-up last time out at Monza and are second in the drivers’ championship, 10 points behind the leading Alpine crew.
Reigning champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López finished third in Italy, after contact with another car while leading the race. They are aiming for a second win of the year in the No7 Toyota. Kobayashi and Hirakawa have already raced at Fuji Speedway this year in Japan’s Super Formula. Hirakawa won the season-opening race at the circuit in April, adding to his Super GT victory there in 2020.
Fuji Speedway is more than a home race for the team. The hybrid powertrain in the GR010 Hybrid is designed, developed and built just a few miles from the track. For many colleagues from the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, this weekend’s race will be their first chance to see the car in action. The 3.8-mile track, the shortest on the WEC calendar, is also the most successful circuit for Toyota Gazoo Racing, who have won seven of the eight WEC races held there so far, only missing out on the top step of the podium in 2015.
Historically, the venue has played a significant role in Toyota’s endurance racing development. The iconic 2000GT sportscar showed its speed with wins in the 1967 24-hour and 1000km races, while the Toyota 7 wrote itself into legend with victories in the Fuji 1000km in 1968 and 1969.
The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, a national series for Le Mans-style cars, brought Toyota back into front-line sportscar competition in the 1980s and it became a regular winner at Fuji Speedway; the circuit also hosted Japan’s first World Sportscar Championship race in 1982.
The always-enthusiastic Japanese fans will have their first chance to see the Hypercars at Fuji Speedway on Friday, when two 90-minute practice sessions are scheduled. Final practice on Saturday will prepare the teams for an early afternoon qualifying; the race will start at 11am local time on Sunday (3am BST).
Team quotes
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “I am excited to race the GR010 Hybrid in front of our Japanese fans for the first time. It was a pity that WEC couldn’t visit Japan for a few years but that only makes this weekend even more special. As well as the race, it is an opportunity to meet our colleagues at Toyota Motor Corporation, particularly our powertrain division at Higashi-Fuji, and our Japanese partners who are all important members of our team. We are determined to give them something to cheer. Missing out on the win at Monza was disappointing but we didn’t have the pace; we need to be stronger in Fuji. Of course, our target as a team is to retain both World Championships, so we want to win this weekend. Our competition is strong and it will be another challenging race, but that helps us to become better as a team. We will do our very best to be back on the top step of the podium in front of our home fans.”
Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “It feels like a long time since our last race at Monza but we have regrouped and will come back refreshed for the last two races. It has not been the best season on our side of the garage so we are all pushing to have a clean race and fight at the front in Fuji. It’s our home race and the team has been successful there in the past, so obviously we want to keep that winning run going. It will not be easy, as we saw in Monza, because the competition in Hypercar just gets tougher, and the No8 car is always strong. But we will push hard to have a good race for our home fans.”
José María López (driver, car No7): “I am happy to be going back to Japan. It is a great place to race and I love being around the Japanese fans, who are so passionate about motorsport. It is more special to go there as part of Toyota Gazoo Racing because it is our home event and we can meet many colleagues who are not able to visit the races in Europe. Fuji is a great circuit and I have some nice memories of racing there. The long straight should suit our car, which has good top speed, and I think we can be strong this weekend.”
Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “Fuji is a special race for us and I have been fortunate enough to win there three times, so it is a good circuit for me. Obviously it is important for the team to have a strong race at Fuji because it is our home race, and the first time for WEC has been there since 2019. Our colleagues at Higashi-Fuji are a big part of the team so it will be great to see them again. We we will push to get a result to celebrate together. It will not be easy and the competition will be tough as it has been all season, so we need to find the right set-up and execute a clean race.”
Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “It’s exciting to finally go back to Fuji after such a long gap since we won there in 2019. The fans always create such a unique atmosphere, particularly as it is the home event for Toyota Gazoo Racing, and we feel very welcome there. Of course, Fuji is famous for the long start-finish straight and it will be an awesome feeling to drive our GR010 Hybrid flat-out for 1.5km past our home fans. It’s getting to the business end of the season and we are only 10 points behind in the drivers’ championship, so our target is to close that gap, hopefully with a win.”
Ryo Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “This will be my first home race in WEC so I am really looking forward to racing in front of our Japanese fans at Fuji. I have raced very often at Fuji in Super GT, Super Formula and my junior racing, so I know it better than any other circuit in WEC. I have had many strong races there and I already won a race there this season, so I feel well prepared for this weekend. We have only two races to go and we are still fighting for both World Championships so we will keep pushing. The goal is quite clear; we want to win again so we will give our maximum effort for that.”
ENDS
