Toyota Racing is preparing to return to the scene of its first victory as the FIA World Endurance Championship gets underway again with the Six Hours of Sao Paulo.
Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre took the #7 TS030 Hybrid to victory in the 2012 event, the first of three wins in the final four races of the year. The task of repeating the feat falls to Stephane Sarrazin, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson, who will drive the #8 machine following a 10 week post-Le Mans break.
All three of the drivers have competed at Interlagos in other categories, with Sarrazin the only driver to have driven an LMP1 machine around the circuit, having won the 2007 Le Mans Series title at the Brazilian track.
With downforce requirements for the remainder of the 2013 WEC season, Toyota will bring a revised TS030 Hybrid to Sao Paulo, including an updated aerodynamic package, increasing downforce levels compared to the Le Mans package, which focused more on top speed.
“The TS030 HYBRID has changed quite a lot since Le Mans to give us more downforce, which will be important on a short track like Interlagos where grip is very important,” said Davidson. “Our test at Lausitzring went well; it was great to get back in the car after such a long break and the new package felt good as well. Sao Paulo has always been a great venue for a race and has decided many championship battles. The team had its first victory in the WEC there last year so it has happy memories for us. We know it will be a big challenge but hopefully we will be able to repeat that success this year.”
