Category LMP1-H Predecessor Toyota TS030 Hybrid Suspension (front) Independent | Constructor Toyota Motorsport GmbH Successor Toyota TS050 Hybrid | |
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Chassis Carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb monocoque | ||
The Toyota TS040 Hybrid is a racing car developed for the 2014 Le Mans Prototype rules in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The car is the direct successor to the Toyota TS030 Hybrid, which competed in the 2012 and 2013 FIA WEC seasons.
Contents
Development
During the 2013 WEC season, Toyota announced that it would continue racing in the 2014 WEC and would thus develop a new LMP1 car for the 2014 Le Mans Prototype regulations. More details were revealed by Toyota Racing technical director Pascal Vasselon at the WEC São Paulo round on August 31. The TS040 will continue to use a naturally-aspirated V8 engine with a supercapacitor system mounted on the rear axle. The 2014 car, however, will add an additional supercapacitor system on the front axle to allow the car to use temporary Four-wheel drive. The car was officially unveiled on March 27, 2014. The car made its debut at the 2014 6 Hours of Silverstone on April 20, 2014.
On December 2, 2013, Toyota Racing announced that it had re-signed all of its 2013 drivers: Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre, Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi. In addition, Toyota Racing signed British driver Mike Conway as a reserve and testing driver.
2014
The season started with the 6 Hours of Silverstone and the first race of the new LMP1-H rules. Toyota and Audi both brought new cars and were joined by the returning Porsche. In qualifying, the No.7 Toyota took pole position with a combined time of 1m44.774s in the hands of Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima, only 0.005s ahead of the second placed Audi. In the race, the No.8 Toyota took the victory with the No.7 in 2nd after the race was shortened with 26 minutes from the end due to heavy rain. It was the team's first 1-2 finish in the WEC.
At the second round of the championship, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the TS040s qualified 2nd and 4th in damp conditions with the No.8 and No.7 respectively. In the race, the No.8 took Toyota's second win of the season with a margin of 1m13s and the No.7 finishing 3rd. The No.8 car also scored the fastest lap of the race in the hands of Anthony Davidson with a time of 2m01.327s.
At the official test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 1 June, the Toyotas were fastest, placing first and second on the overall time sheets.
The No.7 TS040 started the 24 Hours of Le Mans from pole, and took the early lead. The No.8 was caught out in a sudden downpour and suffered heavy damage in the hands of Lapierre, losing 50 minutes of time for repairs. The No.7 would continue to lead through the night, only to have a wiring loom failure and officially retire after 13 hours and 53 minutes. The remaining TS040 No.8 continued with the race and eventually finished 3rd.
After a long break the season restarted with the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas in Texas. The No.8 claimed pole position in the hands of Buemi and Davidson, whilst the No.7 qualified 5th. The No.8 took the lead in the initial stages, until a heavy rain shower caught out driver Nicolas Lapierre, who became beached in the gravel. The No.7 also suffered in the rain, losing a lap to the leaders in the red flag. Once the race was restarted, both cars continued and eventually finished with the No.8 in 3rd and the No.7 in 6th.
The next round of the season was the 6 Hours of Fuji in Toyota's home nation of Japan. It was announced that Nicolas Lapierre would be absent from the No.8 car owing to "personal circumstances". The No.8 again took pole in the hands of Davidson and Buemi, with the No.7 qualifying 4th. In the race, the No.8 led for most of the race and finished 1st with the No.7 25 seconds behind in 2nd to take the team's second 1-2 finish of the season.
Complete World Endurance Championship results
Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap.