Kamui Kobayashi has been promoted from test and reserve driver at Toyota’s FIA World Endurance Championship team to a race seat, replacing the retired Alexander Wurz.
He will join Stephane Sarrazin and Mike Conway in the second TS050 HYBRID LMP1 car, which will be unveiled at a launch event on March 24 at the Paul Ricard circuit.
Kobayashi raced for Toyota in three F1 races at the end of 2009 before moving to Sauber. He raced for Caterham in 2014 before the team exited the sport, switching to the Super Formula series.
It will be his second season racing in the FIA WEC, having competed for AF Course in LMGTE Pro back in 2013, finishing seventh in the GT drivers’ championship.
Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima have been retained in the first car, while a reserve driver replacement will be announced at the launch event in March.
"I’m really excited to be an LMP1 race driver and I would like to thank Toyota for this opportunity," he said. "I tested the TS040 HYBRID a few times and it was a seriously impressive car; the power of the hybrid system in particular was amazing.
"Now I can’t wait to see what the new car feels like; I am sure it will be a big step forward and put us back in the fight at the front. Racing in LMP1 will be a new experience for me and I am looking forward to it a lot."
Meanwhile Toyota has unveiled its new livery for this year’s FIA WEC, showing off a new black, white and red colour scheme on a 2015 show car at a press conference in Japan.
Replacing the previous blue and white livery follows the adoption of the Toyota Gazoo Racing name last May.
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