Nakajima Named Toyota Reserve Driver

Kazuki Nakajima has been named as Toyota Gazoo Racing’s test and reserve driver for the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship season.

The three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and 2018-19 WEC champion will be on standby duties to race for Toyota should one of the Japanese manufacturer’s full-time drivers become unavailable.

Nyck de Vries had been Toyota’s reserve since July 2020 but the Dutchman, who replaced Thomas Laurent, has moved to a full-time Formula 1 seat with Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Nakajima retired from full-time driving at the end of the 2021 WEC season and was replaced by Ryo Hirakawa in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

The 38-year-old was then appointed vice chairman of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, the Cologne-based organization where the manufacturer’s LMH program is based.

Nakajima’s role saw him work closely with the WEC squad at race events last season, as Toyota secured its fourth consecutive sweep of the top-category world titles.

Toyota’s WEC technical director Pascal Vasselon said that a lack of planned test outings for the GR010 Hybrid this year contributed to the manufacturer deciding not to introduce a new young driver as its 2023 reserve.

Toyota made provisions for six days of testing between the end of the 2022 season and the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March, with Nakajima involved in the process.

“This year, we had very little testing planned,” Vasselon explained. “Very few test sessions. In fact, there was no real time to give to a fully new test and reserve driver.

“Considering that within the very few sessions we have, we need to give as well mileage to our race drivers.

“So, considering that we have Kazuki available, who is an extremely good candidate as a real reserve drier, we went for this solution which is the most pragmatic and efficient one.”

Vasselon also acknowledged that utilizing Nakajima would be cheaper than hiring a new driver.

“He is happy to do it,” he said. “It was not a big surprise, but he came back at exactly the same level as he left.”