Toyota Drivers Aim to “Keep Momentum” In Title Bid

Toyota drivers Mike Conway and Ryo Hirakawa are hoping that the Japanese manufacturer can “keep the momentum” in this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round at the Circuit of The Americas.

Following victory in last month’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, Toyota has closed to within four points of Porsche in the battle for the manufacturers’ crown.

Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries sit 22 points behind Porsche trio Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer after finishing fourth in Brazil, where the sister crew of Hirakawa, Brendon Hartley and Sebastien Buemi took victory.

Conway, who shares the No. 7 GR010 Hybrid with Kobayashi and de Vries, is hoping that Toyota can put on another competitive showing at COTA after an encouraging showing in last month’s Hypercar test at the Austin, Texas venue.

“Sao Paulo was good, strong on our side,” Conway told Sportscar365. “But let’s see. It was different circumstances with us running a certain tire and others not opting for exactly the same. That was one factor.

“Here could be more of a mix of tires, we don’t really know what we’re going to use. That could play a big factor again.

“We can normally run the Medium tire longer than others, so we’ll see if we can again here. We tested both tires in the test and there wasn’t a huge amount in it. We’ll see if the new tarmac suits one more than the other.

“I felt like [the test] was better than we expected. The track has a lot of high-speed corners, which are sometimes not our favorite. But I come here a bit more open with the track changes. It might reset things a bit.”

While Conway can’t win the title owing to his absence from the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to a rib and collarbone injury, the Briton is adamant he’ll do his “absolute best” to support his teammates Kobayashi and de Vries’ title bid.

“It’s still open,” he said. “The other cars have been quite consistent, especially the No. 6 Porsche. But we have to try and fight until the end.”

Toyota arrives in COTA having taken a Balance of Performance hit in terms of minimum weight and maximum power compared to how the car ran at Sao Paulo last month.

Hirakawa said that Toyota ran in a not dissimilar configuration during the July test as it “anticipated what would be the worst case” with the BoP, but feels that the Japanese marque isn’t in the best position.

“The track was bumpier than we expected,” Hirakawa told Sportscar365. “They did some resurfacing, grinding, but there were a lot of bumps still.

“Looking at the testing, we are not the strongest, I would say. But it’s hard to say who was fastest over a long run.”

Hirakawa, Buemi and Hartley sit 48 points behind the leading No. 6 Porsche trio in the championship with three races to go.

“I think it will be tough for us in car No. 8 to catch the leading Porsche, but we need to work as a team and support the other car and we believe we can do a good job,” he said.

“We are fighting for the championship, so it would be nice to keep the momentum from Brazil here and take that into Fuji, which would be good for the championship as well.”