Toyota Gazoo Racing are renewed and ready to defend their FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) titles against the series’s largest Hypercar grid yet when the new season begins in Qatar on Saturday (2 March)
After seeing off challenges from Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot and Porsche last season on their way to a fifth consecutive world title double, the team are joining a field of 19 Hypercars this season, including newcomers Alpine, BMW, Isotta Fraschini and Lamborghini.
An experienced and proven line-up will be in the driving seat. In the No7 GR010 Hybrid, Mike Conway, 10 years on from his debut with the team, races alongside Team Principal Kamui Kobayashi and newcomer Nyck de Vries, a former Toyota Gazoo Racing Test and Reserve driver.
Reigning World Champions Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa will challenge for a third consecutive crown in the No8 GR010 Hybrid. Buemi and Hartley are the most successful drivers in WEC history with four titles each, while Hirakawa has won the World Championship in each of his two Hypercar seasons.
The GR010 Hybrid Hypercar has won 16 of its 19 races since its 2021 debut. The car’s appearance takes on a striking updated identity for 2024 with all-new matt black livery.
The race car also benefits from detailed modifications to selected internal components, although the most visible technical change concerns the front headlights. Using driver feedback, the LED specification has been changed to reduce glare, for better visibility in wet conditions and at night. For better pit stop efficiency at the anti-clockwise circuits in Austin and Brazil, the GR010 Hybrid has also been modified to allow for refuelling on the left side of the car, for the first time.
Toyota Gazoo Racing continue to benefit from the technical contribution of long-term partners. DENSO contributes to the GR010 Hybrid’s front motor alongside AISIN, while also supplying high-performance spark plugs. RAYS delivers lightweight magnesium alloy wheels and Mobil 1 is the lubricant of choice.
In line with Toyota Gazoo Racing’s dedication to pursuing a carbon neutral future for motorsport, the GR010 Hybrid again uses 100 per cent biofuel fuel which reduces CO2 emissions by at least 65 per cent. To further contribute to sustainability, tyre pre-heating is not permitted at any race.
Complimenting those on-track sustainability efforts, the team’s base in Cologne, Germany recently took steps to reduce CO2 emissions by around 1,400 tonnes a year through a new central cooling facility, marking another important step on its journey to carbon neutrality.
The latest car made its public debut during WEC’s official Prologue pre-season test, held at Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, on 26-27 February, a track first experienced by Toyota Gazoo Racing during a pre-season test session in late November.
The 3.34-mile circuit will also host the first of eight races in 2024, the inaugural Qatar 1812 KM. It takes place this Saturday, starting at 11am local time (8am GMT), and runs for 1,812km (1,126 miles) – in tribute to the Gulf state’s 18 December national day – or a maximum of 10 hours.
After Qatar, a European leg features Imola in Italy (21 April) and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium (11 May) prior to the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15-16 June. Trips across the Atlantic follow for events in Sao Paulo, Brazil (14 July) and Austin, Texas (1 September) before the team’s home race at Fuji Speedway (15 September) and the traditional season finale in Bahrain on 2 November.
