The never ending Toyota return to Le Mans (LMP1) Saga

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Acid09

And I'm pretty sure the press release will be very vague regarding reliability issues during the test again.

Surprisingly, Toyota is quite honest. They do not hide that there were reliability issues.

Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director: "MotorLand is representative of Le Mans circuit in terms of track layout, asphalt characteristics and weather conditions. Therefore, we have been able to evaluate several options on our new bodywork and develop it with the Le Mans 24 Hours in mind. Adding to that, we continue our work on the assessment of Michelin's tyre range to ensure we can cover all kinds of temperature and track conditions. The endurance test has not been as smooth as we expected. We had a couple of issues but we fixed them to achieve a reasonable mileage. Step by step, we are close to having a car capable to do a 24-hour race. After such a long time without being on track, I am pleased to see that both team and car have made a real step forward. Even if we would have liked to hit the track in the past weeks, we have used this time as a benefit."

source: http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...cus-10692.html

Note the last sentence of Vasselon. The lack of testing in April and racing at Spa is a "benefit"

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Note the last sentence of Vasselon. The lack of testing in April and racing at Spa is a "benefit"

Not sure that's exactly what he means but as you say, at least they have been relatively honest. 'Reasonable mileage' doesn't sound overly promising. Maybe there will be more clues in the release.

[TF110]

I like that they can reach pit lane speed limit quickly on the electric power.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Not sure that's exactly what he means but as you say, at least they have been relatively honest. 'Reasonable mileage' doesn't sound overly promising. Maybe there will be more clues in the release.

That is the press release that was sent out. It just is not yet online on http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/

[gwyllion]

http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24-...ants_7024.html has an interview with Vasselon, which gives similar information like the interview done by Laurent Chauveau.

The interview is not yet available in English. So a quick translation of some answers.

Then comes the Le Mans Test Day (June 3). What will your program work there?
We have to qualify Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi who have never driven at Le Mans. Then we will work on aerodynamics and on tires. The rest will depend on the presence or absence of the second chassis.

You will not have a spare car for the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 16 and 17)?
No. Another accident would require us to limit ourselves to one commitment ...

Does this sword of Damocles hanging over your head hurt the competitiveness of the TS030?
We want to be top performers with a hybrid car ... Finishing the race is another story. Our goal is not to win this year. Moreover, our mechanics are training for pit stops. We do our best to be prepared.

Audi has chosen to recover the kinetic energy on the front wheels. Toyota on the rear wheels. Why the difference?
The regulation does not allow to release energy on the front wheels below 120 km/h. We think at this rate, the advantage of 4WD is not decisive, even when the track is wet. The release on the rear wheels is less disadvantageous for the weight and aerodynamics.

Audi chose to store energy in a flywheel. Toyota in supercapacitors. Why the difference?
The regulations limit the amount of recoverable energy during braking to 500 kJ. We know the duration of braking. From this we derive the necessary power. For this power, we want the lowest possible weight. Supercapacitors offer, we believe, the best answer to the equation.

Is Le Mans is favorable to LMP1 hybrids?
On heavy braking, we are not far from recovering 500 kJ ... And Le Mans has a lot of heavy braking. So yes, it is favorable to KERS.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

The press release will probably contain some vague statements about how the new aero package is a step forward and that they are looking forward for Le Mans.

I can predict the future. According to Vasselon "both team and car have made a real step forward."

[R4z3rw33n]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

I can predict the future. According to Vasselon "both team and car have made a real step forward."

Late-night television could produce some lucrative opportunities for you.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by R4z3rw33n

Late-night television could produce some lucrative opportunities for you.

Damn, when I made my prediction, I wanted to include other vague statements such as "the car has a lot of potential", "the development is going in the right direction", "we made good progress" and "we are still learning the car." It turns out that the drivers use some variants of those statement

See http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/mo...vers-comments/

[pach233]

I think at this point making sure they have reliability before the race is more important than the car's ultimate pace. If they can run for an entire 24 hours, the amount of data and experience they can acquire will be of huge importance in prepping for the rest of the WEC and next year. Think of Audi with the R8R in 1999. The car was slightly off the ultimate pace but the reliability was good enough for a podium at Sebring and at LeMans against 4 other works teams. The following year the R8 came out and the rest is history. To make a long story short, I agree with running the 30 hour test as opposed to Spa even if it was worse for us fans.

[TF110]

Nakajima is not a novice, just new to lmps. He and Ishiura are proven in sportscars thanks to SuperGT. I don't know who they'll choose to replace Ishiura, but there are Japanese drivers employed by Toyota in SGT that would be great additions.

About the press release, did we expect anything more from the team's PR? That's why it's good for us to have motorsport sites so we can get another take to the event. At least we got some confirmation the car is agile and nimble, which sounds like the HPDs. Hopefully there is more to come on how the car feels or even compares.

[Rennen]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Damn, when I made my prediction, I wanted to include other vague statements such as "the car has a lot of potential", "the development is going in the right direction", "we made good progress" and "we are still learning the car." It turns out that the drivers use some variants of those statement

See http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/mo...vers-comments/

Hehehe...add "It's a fast car!"

[gwyllion]

So that means that Audi is telling the truth when they say that the current rules favor petrol cars?

[Simmi]

The man himself might be along shortly but Mulsanne Mike has just tweeted that Toyota lost an engine on the morning of the second day of the Aragon test.

Plus:

@mulsannescorner
We understand Toyota's Aragon test produced times equivalent to other LMPs who tested there recently on a less "seasoned" track.

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by Simmi

The man himself might be along shortly but Mulsanne Mike has just tweeted that Toyota lost an engine on the morning of the second day of the Aragon test.

Plus:

As it's on my Twitter feed treat that as rumor...haven't verified yet (might not be able to either).

[Articus]

I hope they lost the engine because it's working hard to make power on par with the Audi's and not just because its plain unreliable. What would be the hypotehtical rev limit on this thing. 11,000 rpm?

[Adam43]

Admin note. Bickering posters posts removed. Sorry everyone.

Thanks to those who tried.

[aneesh99]

Somewhat going off on one here, anyone reckon that Toyota could 'borrow'
Heidfeld from Rebellion to replace Ishiura? He was really impressive at Spa!

[Articus]

Would be a great idea!

[alexkiller8]

well at least heidfeld can say that the last time he ran at le mans, his car (the flying CLR #5) entered in the history...
toyota needs a good lmp driver that already knows how to face the le mans race; in the #8 line-up only davidson can do that for now.

[TF110]

What would the meaning of less seasoned @Aragon be related to? When Toyota was running the track or when the others ran it?

[gwyllion]

World Series by Renault raced on the MotorLand Aragon circuit last weekend. So perhaps the track was rubbered in when Toyota started their test session.

The weather was probably also better than when Pescarolo tested the Dome at Aragon.

[TF110]

So the Toyota was posting times close to the DOME (if so that doesn't sound promising)? Or perhaps Audi or Peugeot.

[alexkiller8]

Originally Posted by TF110

So the Toyota was posting times close to the DOME (if so that doesn't sound promising)? Or perhaps Audi or Peugeot.

if ts030 marked timelaps close to dome s102.5 is a really worrying situation...

[Creep89]

Source? Who states that the Toyota posted times close to the Dome?

edit: Ah ok, found it.. Well.. ok.

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by Creep89

Source? Who states that the Toyota posted times close to the Dome?

edit: Ah ok, found it.. Well.. ok.

I'm told the TS030 was posting times in the 1:25s (highs) regularly early in their stints which would "degrade" into the 1:26s as the stint wore on. Also understand they posted a high 1:23 as one of their fast laps (qualifying setup?). But apparently it was after that lap, or shortly so, that they lost a motor. But that hasn't been verified (the motor part).

How these times compare specifically to the Dome I don't know, but I do understand these numbers are ballpark for gas powered LMP1 times set this year in testing by other outfits. Additionally, I understand track conditions were perhaps more ideal for Toyota with a rubbered in track and good temperatures (upper 70s F).