24 Hours of Le Mans
Is Toyota ready to win?
Winning without competition does not have the same taste, but Toyota has shown signs of responsibility and contrary to what made Peugeot (which "drew up" the regulation and then ...), Audi and Porsche, remained in the competition. He agreed to make concepts, namely the dramatic reduction of the autonomy of the TS050 that went from 14 laps per turn of driving to only 11 laps. However, Toyota realized that the FIA and the ACO (Automobile Club de L'Ouest) were preparing to create an EoT (Technology Equivalence) that would leave the Japanese home at the mercy of non-hybrid LMP1s and clearly suggested that they would not like it to see the private ones walking as fast as the TS050, arguing that there is an agreement to stabilize the rules. Finally, Toyota recalled spending millions on the WEC program against short budgets of teams such as Rebellion, SMP Racing and others, not looking favorably on being overtaken in this particular in a 24-hour edition that Toyota wants to win!Faced with this "reminder", FIA and ACO did what was necessary in the EoT so that the rules benefited the private, but without pinching the supremacy of Toyota hybrids. As you can see from the following pages, private LMP1s are theoretically half a second away, but the TS050 continues to be an advantage as it will take eleven turns with a fuel tank (one more than the private LMP1) but above all you will need less time in the pits since the refueling pumps' debit will be different and was thought to give an advantage to around the five seconds for the Toyota.
Well, right on what Toyota gave with one hand and received with the other, the Japanese house designed the strategy to win the race of 2018. It maintained the alignment of two cars - the expansion for three cars was discarded yet Porsche had not announced his abandonment at the end of 2017 - and dedicated himself to intensive tests, some of them little academic, but with the thought of covering all bases. It is not well known, after all, what these tests were, but some information says that the riders went to the track with a flat tire, walked on three wheels to learn how to return to the stall without damaging the car too much and without losing too much time, invent the most idiotic breakdowns, and train mechanics to solve the problem quickly. As Pascal Vasselon, head of the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, said before testing Le Mans is to do kilometers and kilometers and to test the performance. This time, we sacrificed the mileage and the search for performance (you could know that the private can not make you shady!) To prepare the team for the unknown, the unexpected, the unexpected. "That's why John Litjens, leader of the LMP1 project at Toyota Gazoo Racing, summed up clearly what the team's tests were. "We wanted to train our boys to change pieces that are usually never changed and for that we have made a long list of things that we may need to change, and at this point we know how long it takes."And yes, Toyota rode the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve without a front wheel or only with the rim without tire and in Motorland, Aragon, did the same in the rear axle, that is, without a wheel or only with the rim. "This was done to simulate a hole because we wanted to know what the rider feels and realize the maximum speed that the car can achieve in these situations without causing large damages in the car. But we also wanted to see how the car's systems reacted when the wheel sensors sent information different from normal, "explained Litjens.But Toyota's willingness to beat Le Mans went even further. "Our engineers have created a kind of questioning to help educate pilots on mechanics," Litjens says, adding that "it was a very interesting stage in the preparation of Le Mans." That is, the pilots were intensely trained to detect faults or explain everything that goes on in the car and if necessary repair.
So the answer to the question I asked above is clear: yes! But ... there is always a "but" and Toyota is not free of another "gremlin" to put one more disappointment in the faces of the team leaders. One thing is for sure: Toyota will not slow down to save itself relentlessly! "If the question is about slowing down if we are ahead with an almost decisive advantage, the answer is clearly no!" The reason is tremendously simple. "These cars were designed to ride at a certain pace (almost in the background, ndr) and if we slow down, the tires no longer have grip, the aerodynamics work badly and we start to recover more energy which will saturate the batteries and can lead to a malfunction of the system, "recalls Pascal Vasselon. In other words, the TS050 must be kept within the progress window, otherwise problems will start to occur. It may seem like a counter-claim, but the hybrid LMP1 is just the same, and Toyota already has the experience of slowing down to save and out of the race.The theme of the team orders has to be addressed because in Spa Toyota intervened so that it was Fernando Alonso to win, after an inopportune Safety Car had left Mike Conway leaning against the Spanish and ready to crush him and shoot for second place.Pascal Vasselon is clear in this respect. "We've had clear-cut rules at Toyota for a long time and they will stick to it. Just see our entries and realize that the fastest car we sign up goes to the lead and there is always good results. Motor racing is, of course, somewhat dangerous and very unpredictable. We must try to control some variables, but we do not want to turn races into parades without emotion or competitiveness or evidence in absolutely safe and predictable processions. That would be stupid! "For all this, it is evident the clearest favoritism of Toyota that will fight against itself and against its ghosts, with a star named Fernando Alonso, more and more at the wheel of the TS050. But the competition is lurking ...
José Manuel Costa-Sportauto, direto de Portugal
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