The #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López are aiming to end their year on a high with victory in this weekend’s Eight Hours of Bahrain, even if their bid to claim the FIA World Endurance Championship title for a third consecutive year is all but over.
The team took victory in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps earlier this year but have too often played second fiddle to the sister #8 car, and they go into the finale at the Bahrain International Circuit twenty-six points behind in the championship standings.
Conway admits to enjoying racing in Bahrain and has many happy memories of the track, and even though he knows the title appears out of reach, he says they will be going all-out to end the season with a strong result.
“I enjoy racing in Bahrain and I have had some nice moments there over the years; I actually won my first WEC race with TOYOTA there in 2014 and of course Kamui, José and I won the title there the last two years,” said Conway.
“Realistically, the World Championship is over for our car this year so we will concentrate on finishing the season on a high.
“We’ve had some frustrating races but it would be great to go into the winter on the back of a victory.”
Team-mate López admits this years event will feel different compared to the past two years where they’ve been championship contenders, but like Conway, he is looking to bring the #7 car home at the front of the field this weekend.
“Bahrain is a great place to race; I like the circuit and the weather is always very good so I am looking forward to finishing the season there,” said López. “It’s a different situation on our car compared to the last couple of years because we are not really in the World Championship fight.
“But this means we can just focus on getting the best result in the race. Our #7 car has been very strong this season, even if the results didn’t always reflect that, so I think we can challenge for the win.”
“It has been a close fight all season so it will not be easy” – Kamui Kobayashi
Kobayashi, who also acts as Team Principal alongside his driving duties at Toyota, says the team as a whole have achieved two of their main targets in 2022, but they will still be aiming high this weekend to ensure the Japanese manufacturer win the overall title with the #8.
The Japanese racer, a former podium finisher in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, says the result in the previous round in Fuji proved that the team could put together a perfect weekend, and he is hoping for a similar weekend this time around in Bahrain as they look to beat the #36 Alpine Elf Team to the championship.
“The whole team is looking forward to Bahrain, which is a fantastic circuit with great facilities,” said Kobayashi. “We go there having reached two of our main targets this season; we won Le Mans and at Fuji Speedway.
“But we still have big goals to achieve this year and we want to win both World Championships in Bahrain. It has been a close fight all season so it will not be easy, but we showed at Fuji Speedway that, thanks to the big support of the team members, TOYOTA colleagues and partners, we can deliver a perfect weekend.
“That will be our target again. I think it will be another interesting race for the fans to finish this Hypercar season and raise the excitement for 2023, when we can expect a big challenge.”
