Toyota: LMDh Manufacturers in ‘Another Class’ to LMH

Toyota Racing technical director David Floury believes that the LMDh manufacturers are a step ahead of their LMH competitors ahead of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Floury made the remarks after a first qualifying session on Wednesday night in which three brands, all using LMDh machinery — Alpine, Cadillac and BMW — locked out the top six positions, with the best of the LMHs, the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie, seventh.

Toyota’s pair of upgraded TR010 Hybrids both made it through to Hyperpole 1 in eighth and 12th respectively, its best car 0.656 seconds off the pace of the No. 35 Alpine A424 that topped the timesheets in the hands of Ferdinand Habsburg.

“Not much to say, to be honest,” Floury told assembled media ahead of Hyperpole on Thursday. “I think you can analyze by yourselves; it’s pretty clear.

“We are focused on optimizing our package and the rest is not in our control.”

Referring to his comments post-race at Le Mans last year about a “two-class” contest between cars with a top speed advantage and without, Floury added: “We kept the same ticket as last year.

“I’m not sure that it has anything to do with the aero package. Yesterday we saw there was a two-class qualifying with LMDh on top and LMH behind. That seems to be the picture.”

Asked why he felt the LMDhs were at an advantage in terms of top speed, Floury would only say “it’s not for me to answer this question”.

However, the Frenchman did not totally dismiss the chances of Toyota scoring a first victory since 2022 if it is able to pull off a race with no mistakes.

“It will definitely be difficult,” he said. “We have to execute everything to perfection. If we manage to do that, maybe we stand a chance, but it depends on the circumstances.

“On pure pace and especially raceability it will be difficult. We have a better package this year but the picture is still that it’s not going to be easy. We cannot afford a single mistake, and the rest is not in our hands.

“We have seen in the past few years many factors can influence the end result. Not all of these are under our control, so we focus on what we can control.”

Although Floury name any specific LMDh brands as favorite, BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos singled out Cadillac as the brand looking to be in the best shape heading into Thursday night’s Hyperpole sessions.

Roos told Sportscar365: “Cadillac looks very strong, to be honest, the whole week, and not only on single lap times but also on the long runs.

“They have a strong car, strong pace. In the end, we hope we can keep up with them and be in a good mix and a good fight.

“But there are also, for sure, other manufacturers that will be there.”

Heart of Racing team boss Ian James, whose team runs the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar effort, meanwhile, singled out Toyota as a threat on race pace as well as Cadillac.

“I wouldn’t say we’re right at the front,” James told Sportscar365. “I think there’s between four and six cars that seem to be a little step ahead.

“In that next little battle, I think we’re in that battle.”

Asked for his views on the favorite at this stage, James said: “[On] race pace, I would say Toyota. When we look at the data and what they can do and the tires they do it on, is very impressive.

“The Cadillac seems to drop off a little bit on race pace, from what we see. But it’s still very, very fast.”

Hertz Team JOTA co-founder Sam Hignett meanwhile dismissed any suggestions that Cadillac is “favorite” only admitting that the squad is in “good shape” heading into its second Le Mans together with the GM marque.

“We are competitive,” Hignett told Sportscar365. “I don’t think you can talk in terms of favorites.

“You can talk in terms of preparation and experience, and then there’s a huge amount that has to come together to even get on the podium, let alone win it.

“I think we’re in good shape, we’re well prepared, and we will do our best.”

John Dagys contributed to this report