At Interlagos, Toyota returns to the land of its first victory
Twelve years after its first success in the World Endurance Championship, Toyota is returning to Interlagos. This time, the Japanese manufacturer hopes to achieve a similar result. And take revenge against Ferrari.
Is there a sense of revenge in the air? If meteorological forecasts cannot predict this possibility, some observers may wonder if it will happen. After the delicate and controversial ending of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota could have only one goal: put Ferrari back in its place.
During the Le Mans classic, the Japanese manufacturer and the Scuderia were both fighting for victory and the last step of the podium. In the end, the mistake of car #51 sent the Toyota N°8 spinning, relegating it to fifth place. While the sister car faced bad luck, the winning trio implemented a strategy as perfect as it was unexpected.
A known circuit
With a prestigious success so close, Toyota will certainly want to put the church back in the middle of the village. Especially since the Interlagos track is well known in the Japanese clan. In 2012, the Japanese manufacturer achieved its first success there, in 2012, during the creation of the WEC.
But since this episode, water has flowed under the bridges. The layout has changed. The car is radically different. Already, these are two very different categories of racing cars. The LMP1 has nothing to do with the current Hypercar.
We have never driven our GR010 Hybrid in Interlagos before, so we don’t know exactly what to expect, but I’m sure it will be a big battle,” said Kamui Kobayashi, driver of the #7 and team director.
Catch up with Ferrari and Porsche.
On Ayrton Senna’s lands, Toyota will have the opportunity to further close the gap with Ferrari, second, and Porsche, first. Only 12 units separate Nyck de Vries’ team from the Scuderia. And the Stuttgart manufacturer has a lead of 17 points.
If the probability of seeing Toyota leading the championship at the end of the 6-hour race seems relatively low, the Japanese brand has a good chance of catching up. « I’m looking forward to competing again, fighting at the front, and hopefully helping Kamui, Nyck, and the team win the world championship », announces Mike Conway from #7.
