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NEWS
Toyota eyes outright Le Mans victory
Japanese car-making giant targets the biggest prize in sports car endurance racingToyota aims to topple the might of the Audi and Porsche factory teams in the top LMP1 category at next weekend's Le Mans 24-hour enduro with its new TS040 Hybrid, which has triumphed in both WEC events staged so far this year.
However, Le Mans is a different story as Toyota cars have finished second in 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2013, but victory has thus far proved elusive for the brand.
German juggernauts Audi and Porsche obviously have a formidable track record at the La Sarthe circuit, with the former having won seven of the last eight instalments of the iconic race and claiming the silverware on no less than 12 occasions since 2000.
Porsche (with a driver line-up including our own Mark Webber) has been absent from the LMP1 category in recent years, but the Zuffenhausen car maker was last victorious from 1996 through 1998, and the marque has racked up countless wins in the lesser classes over the years.
Nevertheless, Toyota has high expectations this year with its so-far-undefeated TS040 Hybrid, which pushes out no less than 735kW.
The front and rear electric motors provide 353kW of boost, with energy stored in a supercapacitor. The remaining 382kW is generated by a new-for-2014 3.7-litre petrol engine that drives the rear wheels.
Toyota's two victories so far have come at the fast and flowing Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps circuits, giving the team a 48-point lead as they enter the third of eight championship rounds.
The team gained a further boost after their two cars posted the first and second quickest lap times in a trouble-free official test session last weekend.
The No. 7 Toyota is driven by Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima, while the No. 8 car is piloted by Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sebastien Buemi.
"I came to Toyota to win Le Mans; that has been my ambition since I came to endurance racing," said Davidson, who finished second last year.
"This year I feel we are in a pretty good position and I would be disappointed if we do not have the performance to fight for the win in the 'big one', especially after the first two races. But at Le Mans you never know. Even if you have the fastest car, there are no guarantees."
The action begins next Wednesday (June 11) with a four-hour practice session in the afternoon, followed by two hours of qualifying. Two further two-hour qualifying sessions follow next Thursday.
Race day next Saturday (June 14) begins with an 8am warm-up session ahead of the official 2pm start time.
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Written byGautam Sharma
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