"Just leaving the garage on the electric power is very futuristic, then when you let the clutch go and the internal combustion engine kicks in it is like an old friend has returned!"
Mike Sefton -
CleanMPG - Jan 28, 2012
With Peugeot gone, this may be the new competition for Audi.
Toyota Racing announced more details of its forthcoming FIA World Endurance Championship participation.
The new team, which is based at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, Germany, will make its race debut on 5 May in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Toyota Racing intends to enter two cars at the Le Mans 24 Hours (16-17 June). Participation in further rounds will be confirmed soon.
A driver line-up of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima has already been confirmed for one car while discussions are still ongoing to finalise the driver line-up for the other. Additionally, Andrea Caldarelli, from Pescara, Italy, has joined Toyota Racing as a junior driver.
Alex Wurz:
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"It was cool to drive the TS030 hybrid car for the first time. Just leaving the garage on the electric power is very futuristic, then when you let the clutch go and the internal combustion engine kicks in it is like an old friend has returned! When we put on the slick tyre I could feel the car generates a very good amount of grip so I think we have a good base and I think we can turn this into a really fast car. I am definitely very happy but my nature is to also be analytical and therefore I know there is still a lot of work to be done. It?s really good to work with all the mechanics and engineers; the Toyota Racing team is very international and this works well. I am very comfortable in this team because they are all extremely professional, that is really clear."
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The TS030 hybrid is Toyota's successor to the iconic TS010 and TS020 cars which participated at Le Mans with podium success during the 1990s, with TS an acronym for Toyota Sport.
Toyota is the first manufacturer to confirm its participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship using a hybrid system, emphasising the pioneering approach to this technology which has seen more than 3.5 million Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide.
The THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System - Racing) powertrain is designed to deliver maximum performance and features an all-new V8 3.4L normally-aspirated gasoline engine and hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo.
The team will use the TS030 hybrid's first test to evaluate the merits, within the current regulations, of a front motor system produced by Aisin AW and a rear motor system developed by official team partner DENSO. Those regulations limit hybrid systems to recovering a maximum of 500kJ between braking zones whilst restricting deployment to only two wheels.
Like Toyota's full hybrid road cars, energy is generated under braking and the TS030 hybrid can operate in electric-only mode, achieving zero emissions and zero fuel consumption.
A brand new carbon fibre LMP1 chassis has been developed and produced at TMG, where the complete car was assembled for the first time in preparation for a roll-out on 11-13 January at Paul Ricard.
During an exclusive test session at the French track, which included running in darkness, the TS030 hybrid completed several hundred kilometres, showing an impressive level of reliability and performance for this very early stage in the car's testing programme.
Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre both put the TS030 hybrid through its paces at Paul Ricard, joined by 30-year-old Japanese driver Hiroaki Ishiura, who is a candidate to join the driver line-up at races where Toyota Racing participates with two cars.
Official partners to the Toyota Racing programme also include ZENT, Aisin, Nippon Steel, Takata, Toyoda Gosei and Michelin.
Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director
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"The two main performance drivers of our TS030 HYBRID car are the aerodynamics and the hybrid system. The regulations for hybrid powertrains allow us to recover energy under braking and release this to improve acceleration out of a corner, delivering lap-time benefit. For any given performance level, a hybrid powertrain will achieve this with less fuel so it is an extremely relevant technology and one we are excited to be bringing to endurance racing. Another key point in our development phase has been delivering aerodynamic efficiency. The development team at TMG has worked very hard to achieve an optimum aero concept using our state-of-the-art aero development processes based on combined wind tunnel testing and CFD. Judging by the positive feedback we received during the roll-out we have a very good base on which to build in the coming weeks."
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Get ready for a diesel vs hybrid battle on the ultimate stage!
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