Hirakawa Believes It’s Toyota’s ‘Time for Revenge’ With New Car

Toyota driver Ryo Hirakawa says that this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will mark Japanese manufacturer’s “time for revenge” after three years of successive defeats, as its upgraded TR010 Hybrid prepares to make its debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

After a run of five wins in the top division at Le Mans from 2018-22, Toyota has fallen short of the ultimate prize on each of the past three runnings with its GR010 Hybrid, with arch-rival Ferrari instead embarking on a run of victories.

But now armed with the revised TR010, which has substantially reworked aerodynamics and won on its FIA World Endurance Championship debut at Imola in April, hopes are high for a Toyota revival in next weekend’s blue riband event.

Hirakawa, who was part of the winning No. 8 lineup at Imola along with Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, believes that the introduction of a new package designed to address the shortcomings of the GR010 means there are “no excuses”.

“The new car has been successful so far, so we are really excited,” he told Sportscar365. “Since 2023 we have been losing [at Le Mans] so we need to win.

“We don’t want to lose; we hate to lose. So in that sense it’s not new, it has continued since 2023. This year it feels like time for revenge. We need to be on top.

“At this stage, it’s very difficult to say because we need to use the test day and the free practice sessions to assess how the car behaves. The car is new, the tires are new, so we need to take things carefully, take it step-by-step.

“I think since we lost in 2023 we have done a great job. The 2024 race we were really unlucky with the safety car and contact, and of course last year the car didn’t have the potential to win. If we deliver this year, we should be able to win.

“We don’t want to underestimate the competition, but we have no excuses this year. If we can’t fight for the win, I think we are doing something wrong.”

On the other side of the Toyota garage, the No. 7 Toyota will be shared by team principal Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway, who opened their WEC campaign with third at Imola before finishing fifth in last month’s Spa round.

Conway told Sportscar365: “It feels a bit different with the upgraded car and the new colors, and it feels good with the changes we made. But otherwise it’s like normal.

“In terms of where we stack up, I can’t say where we are, but we are coming here with a better package than we had last year, so I am confident in that way.”

Quadruple Stints, Harder Tires at Night a Possibility

Toyota’s upgraded TR010 was able to win at Imola partly by stretching out its tire life, with the team’s initial call to triple stint the No. 8 car’s Michelins at the start giving that crew the advantage during a subsequent caution period.

Combined with the durability of the new-for-2026 Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance range, it raises the question of whether quadruple stints could be a possibility during next weekend’s race around a circuit that is not known for being tough on tires.

“It’s something we’ll find out on test day,” said Hirakawa when asked about the feasibility of quadruple stints. “But so far the tires have been  quite strong, so maybe we can do four stints.

“Strategy will be important because overtaking will be difficult, so we might need to try some new stuff. It might be possible to keep the Medium or even the Hard at night, because the tire works in a much lower range.

“You may not even need the Soft if it isn’t that cold. We need to have these kinds of thing in mind.”

Conway was more reserved when asked for his opinion on the possibility of quadruple stints.

“We have to see firstly if Michelin allows us to do it,” said the British driver. “We’ll know more as the week goes on, but it could be an option.

“Always with a quadruple you run the risk of punctures, so it depends how it goes on test day. Even if we don’t do a full quadruple, we can still predict how it will be.

“The choice of tires for the race is still open, and that depends on conditions as well.”