WEC
Toyota confident of reliability fixes ahead of Le Mans test
Toyota is confident it has overcome the reliability issues that hit its two cars in last month's Monza FIA World Endurance Championship round ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Gary Watkins
Edited: Aug 15, 2021, 10:19 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The fuel system and electronic problems that delayed the Japanese manufacturer's Le Mans Hypercars in the Italian WEC event have been identified and fixed ahead of the blue riband round of the championship next weekend, according to Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director Pascal Vasselon.
He revealed that the fuel issue that resulted in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid driven by Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley losing nearly an hour in the pits was the result of contamination.
Vasselon explained the contamination was related to the processes and systems used by the team and not the fuel supply from Total.
"It was not obvious to understand where it was coming from because the contamination was somehow transparent and not visible in the filters," he said in advance of Sunday's Le Mans test day.
"It was not related to the supply: it was within our own machines to manage the fuel [where] we had some contamination."
He also revealed that a similar fuel issue had hit the #7 car shared by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez in free practice at Monza.
Vasselon was unwilling to offer a full explanation of the electronic problem that resulted in the winning #7 Toyota losing a minute on track when Kobayashi was forced to bring the car to a halt to undertake a full systems reboot.
"On these electronic things it is very difficult to go into detail, but it is fixed," he said.
Toyota is "now as confident as we can be" about the reliability of the new GR010 LMH prototype that came on stream for the 2021 WEC, according to Vasselon.
"We have convincing counter-measures for all the issues we have suffered so far and we do not have any fundamental issues," he said. "But things can happen."
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid Hypercar, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez
Photo by: Marc Fleury
The Toyotas will be running at a higher power level than originally envisaged for Le Mans, but Vasselon said this would not be to the detriment of the reliability of GR010's petrol-electric drivetrain.
He explained that the four endurance simulation tests undertaken with the GR010 had all been run at the higher level.
"It is within the range that we can run without major concern," he said.
The LMH rules prescribe a maximum power level of 520kW (697bhp) for regular WEC races and 500kW (670bhp) for the double-points round at Le Mans.
A maximum power of 515kW has been laid down for the Toyota in the Balance of Performance table for the this weekend's official Le Mans test, while the Glickenhaus 007 LMH will run at 520kW.
The BoP could evolve after the test and the practice and qualifying sessions of race week based on the data accrued by the rule makers, the FIA and Le Mans organiser and WEC promoter the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
The increase in maximum power reflects concerns that the LMP2 prototypes have so far this season been too close to the cars competing in the Hypercar class - the Toyota and Glickenhaus LMHs and Alpine's grandfathered LMP1 Oreca design.
Toyota and Glickenhaus have argued that there needs to be more of a gap between the two prototype divisions.
Read Also:
- Who’s the most successful manufacturer at Le Mans? Porsche, Toyota & more
- Hypercars at full power level for Le Mans, Alpine pegged back
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Who’s the most successful manufacturer at Le Mans? Porsche, Toyota & more
Next article Le Mans Records: Biggest winning margin, most distance & more
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Gary Watkins
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
General
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
More from
Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC
Toyota slams “stupid games” by competitors in Le Mans pre-test
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Toyota slams “stupid games” by competitors in Le Mans pre-test
The winners and losers from the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
The winners and losers from the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours
Toyota drivers predict faster lap times and “plenty of fighting” ahead at Le Mans
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Toyota drivers predict faster lap times and “plenty of fighting” ahead at Le Mans
Latest news
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 min
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe