Vasselon: “We have taken the concept of the TS050 Hybrid further”

Le Toyota Gazoo Racing a dévoilé à Barcelone an improved version of the outgoing double winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is preparing to carry out its farewell tour before giving way to the next Hypercar from the Japanese giant. While this may seem curious given its dominance last year, these developments were in fact thought of a long time ago and result from a natural process of development. Pascal Vasselon, the technical director of the Japanese team, agreed to tell us more.

What changes have you made to the TS050 Hybrid?

The developments are modest. We made them with a limited budget and teams who were starting to work on 2020. The most visible modification is aerodynamic and affects the front. We have not revolutionized the concept but just taken that of the TS050 Hybrid further by increasing the air flow passing through the car. We now have a high nose, which is no longer connected to the splitter on the sides but by pillars. We also have a small list of reliability-oriented issues even if we have no fundamental concerns, just small details to improve here and there. The idea is just to reduce maintenance on the car by making it a little more solid.

Take a ride onboard our new TS050 HYBRID around @Circuitcat_eng With @ pechito37 – the man who set the fastest lap during this week’s @FIAWEC #Prologue2019#TOYOTA #PushingTheLimitsForBetter #TOYOTAGAZOORacing pic.twitter.com/aeVsPbAMrU

— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@Toyota_Hybrid) July 26, 2019

So is it more about reliability than performance?

Both. We were obliged to take into consideration the margin of progress of the LM P1 Non-Hybrids, which was confirmed. We couldn't just do nothing. Last year, we had the best package, but our rivals took a major step forward between the 2018 and 2019 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

But did you really need it?

These decisions were taken a long time ago, at a time when the 2020 regulations were not in place. So our development teams couldn't do anything. We do not have the resources of a team of F1, capable of making changes in two months, and these modifications were thought of a year and a half ago because they require a long response time. But for a long time, there has been no work done on the TS050.

Job done! The final test before the first race of the 2019-2020 @FIAWEC season is over and, after 917 laps and 4268kms on the @Circuitcat_eng, we are ready for the new season.

For more info, check out our press release: https://t.co/G2YchdSi1o#TOYOTA #TOYOTAGAZOORacing pic.twitter.com/Ztlh4bXCvp

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@Toyota_Hybrid) July 24, 2019

How do you see the upcoming season?

We do not master everything, but for our part, we have collaborated with the ACO to set up a success handicap system which should do a better job than the EoT (equivalence of technology. Editor's note), of which we have identified the limits outside of Le Mans, where it worked well, everyone recognized it.

How will you handle the date clash(es) with the Formula E ?

We started with three clashes, some have been resolved but we have no official updates on the subject, so we still hope that solutions will be found.