Toyota Gazoo Racing will get its first outing at Sebring International Raceway. The Japanese LMP1 team will run its two TS050 Hybrid for the first time on the Florida track during a three day test session ahead of the 1000 Miles of Sebring, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season.
The test, which was booked to gain additional track experience, will include night time running. All six WEC drivers will be present, including Daytona 24 winners Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso.
TMG technical director Pascal Vasselon explained the team didn't view the test as essential, but went ahead with it anyway: "It is not an absolute must because we have done a lot of model-based development and our conclusion is that the bumpiness of Portimao is in the same league as Sebring," he explained.
"We considered many times to drop this session, but finally we managed to fit it into the budget."
Toyota will be sharing the track with the Chip Ganassi Racing GTE Pro Fords, the Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 squad and Dragonspeed's LMP1 and LMP2 cars, who have also booked the track for the session. For Dragonspeed, it's the only chance at testing at Sebring, as the team will miss the official test the weekend before the race as it will be in St. Petersburg for its IndyCar debut.
The 1000 Miles of Sebring is set to take place on Friday, March 15th, with the 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA race following on saturday.
