Toyota’s Bahrain Pole “Good For the Team” After Tough Season

Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director David Floury has described the marque’s lockout of the front row for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain as “good for the team” after a largely miserable 2025 campaign.

The Japanese manufacturer’s pair of GR010 Hybrids locked out the top two positions in qualifying on Friday evening as Kamui Kobayashi took the No. 7 car to pole, eclipsing his opposite number in the No. 8 car, Brendon Hartley.

It marks Toyota’s first WEC pole since last year’s Bahrain season finale, and follows a frustrating season for the defending manufacturers’ season in which it has so far failed to score a podium, with a best finish so far of fourth at Spa.

Floury said a combination of the track characteristics suiting the Toyota and a more favorable Balance of Performance compared to recent races were both factors behind its performance, which he described as a major morale boost.

It comes as Toyota prepares to introduce an updated version of the GR010 Hybrid, which began track testing last month at Paul Ricard, for next season.

“We weren’t confident [about scoring pole], but generally it has always been a track where we perform quite strongly,” Floury told reporters post-qualifying.

“This is the first point, and the second point is that in terms of weight and power, we see many cars being in the same ballpark as us. It’s a different picture now compared to almost the whole season, which says a lot about the season in itself.

“Tonight we can be happy; it is good for the team because it’s been a very tough season for everyone. We don’t go racing to be in a position to fight weekend after weekend for two or three points. We are racers and we want a fair fight.

“Performing strongly here will help us to go into winter and preparations for next year. We are aware we have a lot of work to do and we are definitely working on it.”

Asked if he felt confident of converting the team’s strong qualifying position into victory on Saturday, Floury replied: “I don’t feel confident because this is what can often lead you to overlook things, but we are motivated.”

Kobayashi, who dovetails driving duties in the No. 7 Toyota with his role as team principal, said he hopes to give the current iteration of the GR010 Hybrid a strong send-off before the upgraded version of the car comes on stream in 2026.

“I think through the weekend we had quite a competitive car, and we are pretty happy with the car,” he said. “We just build everything for the race pace, and for a qualifying scenario, I tried to prepare myself and the car felt good.

“The concept has been changed because the temperature completely changed from FP3, but we managed it well and we achieved a good lap time.

“I think we can enjoy this moment. We are not fighting for the championship, but as a team we want to have a good race with the last race for this car.”

For his part, Hartley described his Hyperpole lap as “conservative” as he fell 0.151 seconds shy of Kobayashi’s pole-winning effort, but believes the front-row lockout puts Toyota in a strong position for Saturday’s eight-hour race.

“We were very quick here last year, and we know it’s a good track for us,” said Hartley. “It helps some of the other cars have got heavier and reduced power, a bit more in line with us. The team has done a good job.

“As a team it’s very nice to lock out the front row, and gives us a big advantage in the race. We know track position can be key in these races, so it’s a big advantage.

“Hopefully we can finish on a high with at least one car standing on the podium, as we haven’t had a podium the whole year. It’s fair to say the motivation is very high.”

However, Hartley cautioned that he feels the other Hypercar manufacturers have closed the gap on Toyota in terms of their ability to manage tire degradation, which tends to be a decisive factor in Bahrain due to its abrasive surface and layout.

“In the past, we were definitely stronger on tire deg, but this year we’ve seen everyone else make strong steps in our direction,” said the New Zealander.

“This track probably plays into our hands a bit more, and we do look pretty decent with tire deg. But it does feel like everyone else has caught up.”