Toyota wants to stay…under certain conditions

En marge du salon de Tokyo, qui va ouvrir ses portes au public dans deux jours, Shigeki Tomoyama, président de Toyota Gazoo Racing, a parlé de l’avenir du programme en WEC, après le retrait de Porsche and despite the fact that Peugeot put an end to his return project in 2020.

Clearly, the intention is to stay next year, for the Super Season. “ Toyota is keen to participate in the 2018-2019 season, but our commitment will depend on confirmation of the correct rules », Said a spokesperson for the team. Being the only major manufacturer present therefore does not seem to pose a problem for the Japanese firm. But it does not, however, see favorably the wish of the governing bodies to allow the fastest non-hybrid LM P1 to rise to the performance level of the TS050 Hybrid, which is similar, more or less , to a Performance Scale.

However, there is a good chance of seeing Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WEC next year. What happens next, it is still too early to talk about it, even if the new rules and the probable arrival of prototypes identifiable at first glance to the brands they represent, please the Japanese manufacturer. Pascal Vasselon, the technical director of Toyota Gazoo Racing, told us at Fuji (see Ah n°2136): “ Toyota considers it interesting to move away from anonymous prototypes in terms of identification and whose silhouette is solely dictated by the laws of aerodynamics. We prefeWe would move towards bodies reminiscent of road super sports cars and think that this is something that could revive the premier category of the WEC. Yes, clearly, we would like to move towards GT Prototypes. »