Toyota Confirms 2019-20 LMP1 Program

Toyota Gazoo Racing will continue in the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP1 category next season.

The Japanese manufacturer confirmed plans to run a pair of Toyota TS050 Hybrids in the top category of the globe-trotting series as part of its annual motorsport address on Thursday.

It will announce a driver lineup for its eighth consecutive WEC season, and its fourth with the TS050 model, “at a later date”.

Few details have been established regarding Toyota’s crew composition for next year, although two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso recently told Sportscar365 that he is “50/50” on returning to the WEC for a second campaign.

Toyota currently leads the LMP1 driver, team and manufacturer standings after five rounds, having won all but one race of the 2018-19 ‘Super Season’ so far.

It has been gearing up for next month’s sixth round – the 1000-mile race at Sebring International Raceway – by undertaking its first laps at the Florida circuit this week.

Alonso and his co-drivers Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi currently hold a five-point advantage over teammates Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez in the FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship with three races to go.

No official word has been given on a commitment to the FIA and ACO’s ‘Hypercar’ regulations, although Toyota has played a large role in helping shape the new platform that’s set to debut in the 2020-21 season.