Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe Cautions Against Overexcitement After Imola 6 Hours Victory
David Floury, Technical Director at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, tempered enthusiasm following their Imola 6 Hours victory, citing strategic decisions rather than pure pace as the deciding factor. Speaking on the win, Floury noted, “> I don’t think we should be over excited because it was a race decided on a tyre call, not on pure pace.”
In the FIA WEC 2023 season, the Toyota GR010 HYBRID, driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, and Mike Conway, took the top spot on the podium, with Ferrari’s 499P LMH coming in second. Floury acknowledged that Ferrari boasted a faster pace, stating, “> If you look at pure pace on fastest lap time, Ferrari is four tenths faster than us.”
He praised Kobayashi’s exceptional drive during the final two hours of the race, particularly when rain started to fall, requiring him to enter extreme fuel-save mode to avoid a late pit stop while fending off a challenge from the factory Porsche 963 LMDh driven by Kevin Estre.
Ferrari’s delayed tyre change and misinterpreted weather forecast led to their downfall, with the Italian manufacturer admitting to tactical mistakes. Ferrari had initially planned to split strategies on their two factory cars but failed to execute due to a communication problem.
This victory marks a significant turnaround for Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, following a disappointing performance in the Qatar 1812Km WEC season-opener in March, where they finished fifth, a lap behind the winning Porsche Penske Motorsport entry. A Balance of Performance (BoP) change contributed to the shake-up in Imola’s standings, although Floury hinted that the playing field has yet to be fully levelled in the Hypercar class.
Discrepancies in straight-line speed between the cars were apparent in both qualifying and the race, with Floury citing the 5-6km/h difference in top speeds between the 499P and the GR010 as “big in a BoP world.” He suggested that Ferrari was “out of sight” post-race.
The WEC 2023 calendar is set to introduce a new “power gain” component to the BoP, aimed at levelling the performance profiles of the cars down the straights. This system, which was trialled during the pre-Qatar Prologue test, will apply a plus or minus figure to the maximum power figure for each car above 210km/h (130mph) to accurately match their acceleration and top speeds. However, the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have yet to reveal the introduction date to the manufacturers.
In the world of WEC 2023, strategy and execution are proving to be crucial components of success, as seen in the Imola 6 Hours. As the season unfolds, it will be interesting to see if Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe can maintain their momentum and if the new BoP changes will level the playing field in the Hypercar class.
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