TOYOTA RACING on track in Italy

TOYOTA RACING accelerated its preparations for the opening round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with two trouble-free practice sessions for the 6 Hours of Imola.

After completing a comprehensive testing programme during Tuesday’s Prologue, the two TR010 HYBRIDs were back on track in Italy for a pair of 90-minute free practice sessions. Unlike the rain-affected Prologue, Friday’s action took place in warm temperatures, under clear skies.

Strong teamwork contributed to another productive day, which finished with the #7 TR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries second fastest overall, just 0.114secs behind the pace-setting #35 Alpine. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa were 10th, half a second further back, in their #8 TR010 HYBRID.

The fastest laps were set by Nyck and Ryō respectively at the beginning of second practice, on new tyres and with lower fuel loads. Aside from these qualifying simulations, both sessions were used for comparing mechanical and aerodynamic settings. Data gathered during Friday’s three hours of practice around the 4.909km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will help the team optimise car set-up and tyre strategy for the race, Toyota’s 100th with hybrid power in WEC.

Preparation will continue during a final free practice on Saturday morning, before the starting grid is decided by qualifying and Hyperpole, starting for Hypercars from 3.10pm CEST. The race, when the team will aim to repeat its 2024 Imola victory, begins on Sunday at 1pm local time.

Quotes:

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It was nice to get the race weekend started with free practice. The car has improved since the Prologue and we are making progress. We will try to improve it further before qualifying and then we’ll do our best to get a strong grid position. It’s looking like a close fight, and we are definitely looking forward to the weekend.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “There are a few things still to improve in terms of balance. It’s hard to know exactly where we are. I know it looks better to be second fastest at the end of FP2 but I’m not sure of the bigger picture. We have a bit of homework to do tonight to be at our strongest for qualifying and the race.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “We had a decent Friday. In general things felt pretty positive and I was happy with the car in FP2. The conditions were consistent today so we could assess a couple of set-up options that we had in mind after the Prologue. There is still a bit of work to be done in certain areas and to improve our understanding of the tyres.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It was good to have a couple of days since the Prologue because we were able to identify some improvement points. I feel like we have improved the car a bit. The warmer conditions changed the overall picture and how we manage the tyres. I think we are looking stronger than in the Prologue and hopefully we can improve a bit more for the weekend.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “We had a smooth day with no dramas, and we tested a few different things on the car. The track temperature was different to the Prologue which had an effect. In terms of the overall picture, all I can say is it’s very close at the front. I feel like we have a chance, but we are going to have to put everything together.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “The conditions were warmer today compared to the Prologue, so the car and tyres were behaving a bit differently. We are close to the front but not as close as we want, so we need to find a bit of lap time. We need to optimise the car for these conditions as it looks like it will stay like this for the weekend.”

For full results, please visit https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com

Click here to access the 2026 TOYOTA RACING WEC press kit.  Click here to download rights-free video material of the TR010 HYBRID.