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Featured TOYOTA GAZOO Racing outlines 2017 motorsports activities (third TS050, Super GT Prius)

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by bhtooefr, Feb 2, 2017.

  1. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Outlines 2017 Motorsports Activities | PRESS RELEASE | 2017 | OTHER MOTORSPORTS | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

    There's a couple things that are of interest here.

    [​IMG]
    (2016-specification TS050 with Gen 4 Prius)

    Toyota's announced that there'll be a third TS050 entered into the 6 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. José María López joins Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi in one of the two full-season World Endurance Championship entries, displacing Stéphane Sarrazin, who will drive the third car at Spa and Le Mans, along with two as of yet unnamed drivers. (Worth noting that Porsche is not entering a third 919 at either race, so Toyota may have an advantage here.)

    [​IMG]
    (2016-specification Prius apr GT)

    In addition, apr will continue to campaign the Prius apr GT in Super GT's GT300 class. In the #31 car, Rintaro Kubo replaces Yuichi Nakayama, who moved to the LM corsa team to drive the #51 Lexus RC F GT3 also in GT300. No discussion of any technical changes to the car, though, in this press release.
     
  2. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    Good to see TGR is adding a 3rd car to LM24, having come so close to winning in 2016. In 2014 which they dominated, they could do with a 3rd car as well, but never mind. Let's hope better luck this year; you'll need plenty of that to win LM24.

    Bring on the 1st race in Silverstone!
     
  3. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    Also, the third car's full driver lineup, per Toyota:

    Stéphane Sarrazin, Yuji Kunimoto, Nicolas Lapierre

    And, Toyota's talked about significant techncial changes - a new engine with higher compression and improved thermal efficiency, new electric motors, new battery, and revamped aerodynamics in response to rule changes.

    As far as the Priuses, per dailysportscar.com, #30 still uses a lithium-ion battery, and #31 still uses a supercapacitor-based system. So, #30 will still end up running without any hybridization for the Buriram race, I'd guess.
     
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  4. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    It should be easier with Audi concentrating on Formula E now.
     
  5. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    That sounds just like what the Gen 4 Prius undergone with their engine! Seriously, I do hope they finally win it this year after many tries... lady luck is needed, some Sergio Garcia's luck would do!
     
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  6. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    True, but Audi didn't featured well in the last 2 LM24, so it's still Porsche the benchmark. Toyota has shown last year they could beat Porsche for 23h57m. Hopefully they will last 3 minutes longer this time around!
     
  7. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    2 things come to mind .....
    Really? Gazoo? They choose to rip off the 1970's Flintstones Martian's name?
    [​IMG]
    That's creepy sad. Also,
    Didn't Toyota get their arss handed to them not too many years ago, when team toyota overspent most every other team in Formula 1 - only to never win a series ?! And ironically the Mercedes Petronas team hybrid smoked Toyota's non-hybrid F1.
    Again - creepy sad. Oh well -
    go Gazoo

    .
     
  8. GasperG

    GasperG Senior Member

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    Money alone will never win you any races, I think (hope) Toyota learned their lesson.

    I like what Toyota is doing in motorsport last few years, this year they started competing in WRC with a "small" team led by Tommi Makinen and they already won rally in Sweden and are consistently competitive.

    In WEC (LeMans) Toyota newer spent as much as Audi and they were always up there. They have very good chances for LeMans this year, they ran four 30 hour tests and from the first 6,000 km test there were no serious issues with the car. This week in Silverstone Toyota won't have a competitor, because Porsche chose to run low downforce package till LeMans.
     
  9. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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  10. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    I also read somewhere that Toyota spent approx. $100m, whereas Porsche and Audi spent roughly $250m EACH. So to be that competitive in 2014, 2016 and hopefully this year is an astonishing achievement. They did indeed learned from their F1 experience.
     
  11. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    Very intense race on the weekend... well done to TGR! Just a concern about the third entry, their pace are not far off, but the new guy Yuji seemed like he's 2 to 4 seconds off the pace... that turned into a 2-lap deficit at the end! Something needs to be done to that third entry.
     
  12. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    It isn't the same without Audi.
     
  13. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    Just found out Spa suits a low DF set up. Hence the pole position for Porsche. With the limit of DF packaging, the Silverstone circuit should be shifted after Le Mans so everyone can maximise the DF limits they can have. TGR is now stuck with low DF packaging from Le Mans onwards.

    SM-G900I ?
     
  14. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    They're not stuck with low DF - they can run the Silverstone/Spa high DF package at all circuits other than Le Mans.

    Basically, you can homologate two packages - low and high DF. At Le Mans, I believe low DF is mandatory, at all other circuits, it's your choice.

    Porsche chose to develop their low DF package at Silverstone (which is ridiculous) and Spa (which is fine).

    Toyota chose to actually try to win with a high DF package at Silverstone, and ran a split strategy for Spa of running the two championship cars with high DF, and the third car (for Spa, Le Mans, and possibly Fuji) with low DF.
     
  15. godzillaismad

    godzillaismad Member

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    Yes. It's the development of the downforce packaging is what FIA puts a limit on. So I guess with what Porsche has done is to buy some time for them to finalise the high DF packaging for use after Le Mans.

    SM-G900I ?
     
  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Definition?
    DF -> down force?

    Bob Wilson
     
  17. GasperG

    GasperG Senior Member

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    Yes, DF -> down force.

    SPA is a track that is more low DF suited, but then again not as much low DF as LeMans. LeMans is actually not a race track, a big part of it is actually normal road converted to race track just for one week (two if you count test day), so it's basically straight, chicane, straight, chicane ...

    In the past three packages were allowed and all of the teams had a special "LeMans" package just for this one race, this year only two are allowed. Porsche chose to develop their LD package so they can tune it for more DF (wings and some other parts can be adjustable). Toyota chose to develop dedicated LeMans package just for LeMans, because that is their main objective this year. At SPA their LeMans package had less DF than Porsche package that is one of the reasons they had tyre wear isues.

    In Qualifying Toyota had bad luck, there are many slower cars on the track and Porsche just got a more clean run:

    PR after Qualifying: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Qualify | WEC | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

    And here are full race Highlights:

    PR after race: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: Race | WEC | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

    and many more videos on FIAWEC youtube chanel:
    FIAWEC - YouTube
     
  18. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Thinking of Raceway Silverstone - iirc - from the last time I paid attention isn't the Mercedes hybrid - team Petronas the group that eats most others lunch ? Toyota is the premier name when it comes to hybrids around town & yet not so much in racing. For years - no ... decades - Toyota watched all of the street car manufacturers play hybrid catch-up. It's not easy to wrap one's head around that.
    .
     
  19. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    You're thinking of Formula 1, where Toyota outspent everyone, and didn't get results.

    We're talking about the World Endurance Championship - longer races (6 hours, which was 197 laps this year, instead of the 52 laps of the British Grand Prix), multiple drivers per car with driver changes mid-race, refueling stops every ~45-60 minutes or so, and closed-wheel cars with closed cockpits that hypothetically have room for a second occupant. There, Toyota's been a top-tier team since 2012, and won the championship (but not the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is the race) in 2014. They nearly won the 24 Hours last year, too, except for a failure five minutes from the end of the race.
     
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  20. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    ah ! yea, i haven't kept up on current events - thx.
    .