TOYOTA GAZOO Racing hoping to make home advantage count at Fuji

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team, partnered by Acronis, will be looking to give its home fans reason to cheer as the season heads to Fuji for the penultimate round of the 2022 WEC season.

It will be the first time that the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar will race at the iconic venue after a two-year absence as the team targets a fifth consecutive victory at its home circuit.

Following a second and third place last time out in Monza, both crews will be looking to get back to winning ways with 2022 Le Mans winners SĂ©bastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa currently second in the drivers’ standings.

“This will be my first home race in WEC so I am really looking forward to racing in front of our Japanese fans at Fuji,” commented #8 team driver Hirakawa, who will be hoping to use his knowledge of his home circuit to his advantage.

“I have raced very often at Fuji in Super GT, Super Formula and my junior racing, so I know it better than any other circuit in WEC.

“I have had many strong races there and I already won a race there this season, so I feel well prepared for this weekend. We have only two races to go and we are still fighting for both World Championships so we will keep pushing. The goal is quite clear; we want to win again so we will give our maximum effort for that.”

The #7 team of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López will also be keen to net another victory and their first since Spa-Francorchamps. Like countryman Hirakawa, Kobayashi will be hoping that his experience of the circuit will give him an advantage.

“I am excited to race the GR010 HYBRID in front of our Japanese fans for the first time,” commented Team Principal and driver Kobayashi.

“It was a pity that WEC couldn’t visit Japan for a few years but that only makes this weekend even more special.

“As well as the race, it is also an opportunity to meet our colleagues at Toyota Motor Corporation, particularly our powertrain division at Higashi-Fuji, and our Japanese partners who are all important members of our team. We are determined to give them something to cheer.

“Missing out on the win at Monza was disappointing but we didn’t have the pace; we need to be stronger in Fuji. Of course, our target as a team is to retain both World Championships, therefore we want to win this weekend.

“Our competition is strong and it will be another challenging race, but that helps us to become better as a team. We will do our very best to be back in the middle of the podium in front of our home fans.”

TEAM UP WITH ACRONIS

Acronis are proud to be the official Artificial Intelligence Partner of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team, helping the team perform to the best of their capabilities through machine learning. To find out more, please click here.

 

Motorsport Technology