MOTORSPORT – TOYOTA Racing reached a milestone in its Le Mans 24 Hours challenge when its two TR010 Hybrid Hypercars completed the official test day to accelerate preparations for the 94th edition of the legendary French race.
A productive yet challenging day included set-up and tyre analysis.
A morning incident for the #8 TR010 of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa necessitated extensive repairs. Nevertheless, they finished the day second-fastest, while Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were eighth in their #7 TR010 Hybrid.
“The test went pretty well overall and I’m happy to be back here at Le Mans,” said Kobayashi, who is also the Toyota team principal. “We have learned a lot about our TR010 Hybrid today.
“We still have some things to improve, and I think we know what we need to do. We are pretty much where we expected to be in terms of set-up.
“Now we need to consider if the track conditions will come to us, and we want to generally find more performance. The whole team has worked hard to get to this point and we feel well prepared. Next week we will go for it.”
The high-speed 13.626-kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe, which includes sections on public roads, is a unique challenge for engineers and drivers. The team worked intensively during six hours of testing to adjust set-ups for the demanding combination of long flat-out sections, heavy braking, and high-speed corners.
Test day began with a three-hour first practice, held in dry conditions and with air temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees Celsius.
The session ended early for the #8 TR010 when it was hit by a spinning LMP2 car at turn three with 25 minutes left. The resulting damage to the left and rear bodywork forced Hirakawa to stop at the side of the track.
Mechanics worked quickly to repair the #8 in the two-and-a-half hours between sessions so it could take to the track at the start of second practice. This three-hour session was completed without incident, in slightly warmer temperatures.
In addition to the race drivers, Esteban Masson completed four laps in the #7 TR010 during the morning runs. The 21-year-old Frenchman is part of Toyota’s driver development activities and earned valuable experience behind the wheel of a Hypercar.
Action resumes tomorrow with free practice and qualifying ahead of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the third round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.
Pole position and the leading grid places are determined by two Hyperpole sessions on Thursday evening, either side of further free practice sessions. The race begins at 5pm, Bahrain time, on Saturday.
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