Toyota LMH Completes First Overnight Run at Aragon

Toyota completed the third test of its new Le Mans Hypercar last week with a session at Motorland Aragon that included the car’s first full run through the night.

The Japanese marque was in Spain to continue the Toyota GR010 Hybrid’s development ahead of its race debut in April’s FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener.

All six of Toyota’s full-season drivers turned laps, including Kazuki Nakajima and Kamui Kobayashi who drove the GR010 Hybrid for the first time after missing previous opportunities due to schedule clashes with their Super Formula programs in Japan.

The exclusive test lasted three days from Tuesday to Thursday, Feb. 2-4.

It featured the car’s first overnight run which, according to the team, got Toyota “back on track” with its LMH mileage after a planned test at Aragon last month was canceled due to heavy snow.

The first Aragon test was due to coincide with the car’s launch but adverse weather conditions left the team with mileage to make up when it returned to Spain last week.

Toyota’s previous development runs with the GR010 Hybrid, which has replaced the Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1, were held late last year at Paul Ricard and Portimao.

The defending FIA World Endurance champion squad then unveiled its newest hybrid-powered sports prototype on Jan. 14, along with an unchanged driving roster.

“It was a much more positive test than our previous trip to Aragon last month, and we could successfully recover quite a lot of test mileage by running through the night on Wednesday,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing technical director Pascal Vasselon.

“This brought us back on track to achieve our target mileage before the season starts, which is good news.

“Kamui and Kazuki had to be patient to drive the GR010 Hybrid for the first time and finally they had a chance to do this; it was useful for us to have their input as well.

“The process of understanding all detailed aspects of the new car and fine-tuning setups is still at an early stage so it is an intense period for everyone in the team, as is normal with a completely new car.”

Toyota’s Hypercar class rivals Alpine Endurance Team and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus are also gearing up for the first race of the new WEC season at Portimao on Apr. 4.

Alpine is expected to run its ORECA-built, Gibson-powered LMP1 machine next week, while SCG has outlined a February rollout for its non-hybrid LMH contender.