Invisible Toyotas at the 6 Hours of São Paulo
The two Toyotas were non-existent throughout the weekend, as were the official Ferraris.
Difficult to describe their level of performance. At the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, the Toyotas were invisible. Both in qualifying and in the race. While they had won the race the previous season, the Japanese cars were practically beaten by everyone.
With a rather consistent start to the season – albeit anonymous – it truly raises questions. What happened? Obviously, the contentious topic – the BoP – could explain this setback since Ferrari also struggled at Interlagos. But what is certain is that this poor result has dampened the season for the reigning world champion constructor.
I am really disappointed with the performance and the result, as finishing 14th and 15th is not what we expected. We did our best to find the performance, but it is clear that we were too far behind. We did not have the same straight-line speed as the others, which prevented us from fighting with anyone. We need to analyze the situation and work hard to improve it, and I’m sure we will come back stronger in the next race. On the positive side, I congratulate the Akkodis ASP team for winning the LMGT3 category. I’m happy to see them in the middle of the podium, they really deserved this victory, nuances Kamui Kobayashi, driver of the #7 and team principal.
As mentioned by the experienced Japanese driver, Jérôme Policand’s Lexuses were excellent throughout the weekend, narrowly missing pole position. In the race, they were superior and hardly made any mistakes. Despite a drive-through penalty, the pace of the #87 was such that it still managed to achieve its first success in the WEC. Additionally, it finished with more than a 30-second lead over the #81 Corvette, which came in second.
