During a press conference on the Friday ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, WEC frontrunners Toyota Gazoo Racing announced that it will be committing to the newly created hypercar class in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which is set to go into effect for the 2020/21 season.
Toyota looks set to enter with a racing version of the GR Super Sport concept car that the Japanese manufacturer unveiled at last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans
Speaking to Motorsport Week after the conference, the Toyota factory drivers shared some of their thoughts on the big announcement.
"It’s been a bit of a tough few months," said double Le Mans winner Sebastien Buemi. "So it’s good to see that things are moving forward and apparently, it’s just the beginning. Some other people might jump onboard later on, so I think it’s a very good base and hopefully it’s gonna be a good championship."
Brendon Hartley, who is set to take Fernando Alonso's place in the #8 Toyota, said: "The future looks bright, and I think everyone’s excited to start this new era of top sportscar racing."
Toyota was not the first manufacturer to commit to the new programme, as Aston Martin announced earlier on Friday that it too will be looking to enter the hypercar class with its Valkyrie hypercar. According to Toyota's drivers, the increase in manufacturer interest is a positive development.
"It’s great news for everyone here at Toyota, for one, the WEC, everyone’s happy to hear the news from Aston Martin rejoining as competitors as well," Hartley continued. "I’m not the expert, I’m the driver, but for me, the new regulations are starting to make more sense for manufacturers to come on board, because we’re talking about roadgoing hypercars and maybe a bit of more transfer of technologies to roadcars.
"I think it’s all good news, and the fact that there are already two manufacturers on board… I hope that there’ll be more to come. The more competition, the better."
"It's good that Toyota has committed to the new regulations," says #7 driver Mike Conway. "The ACO have finally come to an agreement on what it's gonna be. There was a lot of waiting for that. Aston Martin coming in is cool, and they're going to be there for the first year, which is pretty exciting. We're excited to have another manufacturer to race against. Good news for the WEC, the ACO and the racing in this category."
When Buemi was asked if the increase in manufacturer involvement was a positive, the Swiss driver was adamant:
"Yes. Yeah, definitely. Definitely a good thing, because otherwise you don’t know if Toyota would have stayed on board for a long time, you don’t know, so it’s good to see that. Of course, having someone like Aston officially joining would be good."
As part of the new regulations, the race car will be mirrored by a limited homologation run of road cars. One of the drivers told Motorsport Week he has quiet hopes of getting his hands on one of the highly advanced road cars.
"I think it’s early days, I don’t know the pricetags. I think all of our hands will be up, but I don’t know how many are going to be made," said Brendon Hartley. "I’ve got a few years to save up the pennies, so…"
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