Featured TOYOTA GAZOO Racing outlines 2017 motorsports activities (third TS050, Super GT Prius)

Good to see TGR is adding a 3rd car to LM24, having come so close to winning in 2016. In 2014 which they dominated, they could do with a 3rd car as well, but never mind. Let's hope better luck this year; you'll need plenty of that to win LM24.

Bring on the 1st race in Silverstone!

 

It should be easier with Audi concentrating on Formula E now.

 

That sounds just like what the Gen 4 Prius undergone with their engine! Seriously, I do hope they finally win it this year after many tries... lady luck is needed, some Sergio Garcia's luck would do!

 

True, but Audi didn't featured well in the last 2 LM24, so it's still Porsche the benchmark. Toyota has shown last year they could beat Porsche for 23h57m. Hopefully they will last 3 minutes longer this time around!

 

2 things come to mind .....
Really? Gazoo? They choose to rip off the 1970's Flintstones Martian's name?

That's creepy sad. Also,
Didn't Toyota get their arss handed to them not too many years ago, when team toyota overspent most every other team in Formula 1 - only to never win a series ?! And ironically the Mercedes Petronas team hybrid smoked Toyota's non-hybrid F1.
Again - creepy sad. Oh well -
go Gazoo

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Money alone will never win you any races, I think (hope) Toyota learned their lesson.

I like what Toyota is doing in motorsport last few years, this year they started competing in WRC with a "small" team led by Tommi Makinen and they already won rally in Sweden and are consistently competitive.

In WEC (LeMans) Toyota newer spent as much as Audi and they were always up there. They have very good chances for LeMans this year, they ran four 30 hour tests and from the first 6,000 km test there were no serious issues with the car. This week in Silverstone Toyota won't have a competitor, because Porsche chose to run low downforce package till LeMans.

 

I also read somewhere that Toyota spent approx. $100m, whereas Porsche and Audi spent roughly $250m EACH. So to be that competitive in 2014, 2016 and hopefully this year is an astonishing achievement. They did indeed learned from their F1 experience.

 

Very intense race on the weekend... well done to TGR! Just a concern about the third entry, their pace are not far off, but the new guy Yuji seemed like he's 2 to 4 seconds off the pace... that turned into a 2-lap deficit at the end! Something needs to be done to that third entry.

 

It isn't the same without Audi.

 

Just found out Spa suits a low DF set up. Hence the pole position for Porsche. With the limit of DF packaging, the Silverstone circuit should be shifted after Le Mans so everyone can maximise the DF limits they can have. TGR is now stuck with low DF packaging from Le Mans onwards.

SM-G900I ?

 

Yes. It's the development of the downforce packaging is what FIA puts a limit on. So I guess with what Porsche has done is to buy some time for them to finalise the high DF packaging for use after Le Mans.

SM-G900I ?

 

Definition?

DF -> down force?

Bob Wilson

 

Yes, DF -> down force.

SPA is a track that is more low DF suited, but then again not as much low DF as LeMans. LeMans is actually not a race track, a big part of it is actually normal road converted to race track just for one week (two if you count test day), so it's basically straight, chicane, straight, chicane ...

In the past three packages were allowed and all of the teams had a special "LeMans" package just for this one race, this year only two are allowed. Porsche chose to develop their LD package so they can tune it for more DF (wings and some other parts can be adjustable). Toyota chose to develop dedicated LeMans package just for LeMans, because that is their main objective this year. At SPA their LeMans package had less DF than Porsche package that is one of the reasons they had tyre wear isues.

In Qualifying Toyota had bad luck, there are many slower cars on the track and Porsche just got a more clean run:

PR after Qualifying: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Qualify | WEC | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

And here are full race Highlights:

PR after race: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Race | WEC | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

and many more videos on FIAWEC youtube chanel:
FIAWEC - YouTube

 

Thinking of Raceway Silverstone - iirc - from the last time I paid attention isn't the Mercedes hybrid - team Petronas the group that eats most others lunch ? Toyota is the premier name when it comes to hybrids around town & yet not so much in racing. For years - no ... decades - Toyota watched all of the street car manufacturers play hybrid catch-up. It's not easy to wrap one's head around that.
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ah ! yea, i haven't kept up on current events - thx.
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