MOTORSPORT – Toyota Racing return to action this weekend following a seven-week summer break in the fifth round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The Japanese manufacturers will be aiming to reinforce their title challenge at the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas (Cota) in Austin, Texas, scheduled for Sunday.
With two wins so far this season – including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans – Toyota lead the manufacturers’ world championship going into the weekend.
At the halfway point of this campaign, the number TR010 Hybrid crew of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries are tied on points at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Teammates Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa are still in the title fight in their number eight TR010 Hybrid, just 19 points behind.
Toyota are determined to improve on the previous round, when neither of their challengers scored points in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Cota is, like the previous round at Interlagos, an anti-clockwise track. One of its most striking features is the steep climb to turn one, followed by a sequence of fast, sweeping corners.
The demanding 5.513-kilometre track also includes one of the heaviest braking zones of the season, when cars decelerate from over 300kph to around 60kph for turn 12.
From eight races at Cota, the Toyota have recorded seven podium finishes and one pole position, but are yet to taste victory there.
To accelerate preparations for the race, Toyota conducted a two-day test – featuring all six race drivers – in Austin in late July.
Data gathered during the test will help engineers and drivers optimise set-ups and strategies for race week, which begins with two free practice sessions on Friday.
Qualifying takes place on Saturday, while the six-hour race starts at 9pm on Sunday, Bahrain time.
“We’ve had some great moments in the first half of the season, particularly winning at Le Mans and Imola, but also a few tough ones too,” said Kobayashi, who is also Toyota’s team principal.
“The last race in Sao Paulo was disappointing, and we’ve learned from that experience. It’s great to be in such a strong position in both world championships, but the competition is intense so we can’t afford any mistakes over the second half of the season, starting in Austin.”
Added Buemi: “I’m really looking forward to racing in Austin again. The first half of the season has been a bit of a rollercoaster for our car, and Sao Paulo was particularly tough. But I know the team has worked really hard to come back stronger, and the test at Cota went well.”
“We’ll be giving everything to fight at the front and hopefully stand on the podium again.”
Following this weekend’s Lone Star Le Mans, three more rounds are scheduled for the WEC’s 2026 calendar.
The Six Hours of Fuji will be held in Japan on September 27, after which the Six Hours of Barcelona will mark the penultimate meeting of the season on October 18.
The Six Hours of Monza will then be the season-finale on November 8 in Italy.
It has replaced the Bapco Energies Eight Hours of Bahrain, which was called off this year due to the unfortunate events impacting the region.
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