Toyota more than on the pace at Sebring

Despite the presence of new threats in the Hypercar category, Toyota and its GR010s were not really challenged during the Prologue at Sebring.

Published on 13/03/2023 à 09:58

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Not many people were able to keep up with Toyota during the Prologue at Sebring. ©Thomas Fenêtre / DPPI

We'll have to wait a little longer before seeing Toyota under the threat of competition obviously. However, there were many opponents at Sebring with the first appearances of Cadillac and Vanwall, or the returns of Porsche et Ferrari in addition to Peugeot already present for part of the previous season.

The results from last weekend’s Sebring Prologue speak for themselves. Despite a very tough field, the GR010 dominated the competition with 3 of the 4 best times of the first Florida stay of the year. WEC. In total, the two Japanese Hypercars completed a total of 587 laps and more than 3.500 kilometers without encountering the slightest problem. A good omen for the 1000 Miles of Sebring this Friday.

« Everything went well at Sebring, rejoices the driver of the N°7 but also the main Toyota team Kamui Kobayashi. The tests went well and the lap times look good but obviously it was only a test, the race will be very different. We need to see what we can improve.

We have new opponents this year but in reality the task remains the same during the tests. We need to find our own pace and focus on preparing our car to have the best set-up."

If Kamui Kobayashi is right to be cautious, Toyota nevertheless seems to have a margin over its competitors. A little too alone since the start of the Hypercar era in 2021, the Japanese manufacturer could be difficult to beat this year, or at least at Sebring for the first race of the campaign.

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