WEC Rookie De Gerus Was ‘Best Prepared’ With Toyota

Photo: MPS Agency

Reshad de Gerus said he was relieved to have tested Toyota’s GR010 Hybrid in Sunday’s FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test given most of his preparation had been with the Japanese manufacturer.

The 21-year-old Frenchman was selected by series organizers to be in the Hypercar world championship-winning car for Sunday’s test at Bahrain International Circuit, with the manufacturers’ title not decided until the conclusion of Saturday evening’s eight-hour season finale.

Toyota, which entered the race with a nine-point deficit to Porsche, came out on top thanks to race victory for the No. 8 entry of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa.

“It was not that simple until last night I didn’t know which car I was able to drive,” de Gerus said.

“At the end, I had the chance to go to Cologne with Toyota in the factory to do a bit of sim and to prepare this test as best as I can.

“I also did my seat fit there. It was good preparation for me because I come from LMP2; the car is completely different.

“Here, it’s my first time in the Hypercar, all these systems you have to learn and you have to understand, it’s quite impressive.

“I’m happy to have had the chance to work before and not discover the manual of the car yesterday night or this morning.”

When asked by Sportscar365 if he prepared equally between Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari, de Gerus said: “To be honest, Toyota was the car I wanted to test because they allowed me to discover everything I had to know.

“Thanks to them, I had the chance to prepare well for this test.

“It’s a super opportunity they gave me to come to Cologne to do sim prep and a seat fit, even at that time they didn’t know if I will be in the car today.

“They were really kind to me and a big thank-you to all the team for that.”

The complexity of the championship scenario, led to Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle suggesting that the series-selected Hypercar driver be placed wth the 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning car instead due to time and resource constraints.

“I had the chance to meet the Porsche team on Wednesday before the race weekend,” de Gerus said. “But for sure I didn’t have the chance to do simulation with them, so I’m happy to be here.”

De Gerus, who finished sixth in the European Le Mans Series LMP2 standings with IDEC Sport, said he felt the GR010 Hybrid to be a “such a different” car to the Oreca 07 Gibson.

“You have to adapt yourself to it,” he said. “It’s a heavier car with a lot more power, so the driving style is completely different.

“You have to use the maximum energy you can. Especially all of the systems are complicated to understand. You really have to work with the engineers.

“This is why I’m happy to have prepared for this test with them. That’s allowed me, this morning, to just start the session quite confident about what I have to do in the car.

“It’s more complex than that I was thinking but it’s great to discover this atmosphere, this world in a factory team. So far, so good for me.”

De Gerus turned a total of 31 laps in the Toyota, setting a respectable best time of 1:52.619 lap time, which was less than one-second slower than the Toyota-nominated Esteban Masson.

“I think I did what the team asked me to do,” he said. “This is the most important. I was just getting used to the track because it was a new track for me, and especially to the car.

“I’m happy about my job this morning. I think the team also.”

De Gerus Aiming for ELMS Return with IDEC

The Frenchman said he’s hoping to return to ELMS LMP2 competition next year, while also looking to grow into a reserve or junior team role with a Hypercar or GTP manufacturer.

“My target is to keep improving, keep learning,” he said. “I’m doing LMP2 and I still want to drive a LMP2 in ELMS and do Le Mans. This is my target.

“For sure I want to be closer to a constructor for the future; this is my target also.

“If I have a chance to be in a junior program or reserve driver for someone, I’d be really happy.

“I hope this test will open the doors for the future.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John