Toyota Gazoo Racing Hyped For Hypercar Debut
Toyota City, Japan, Apr 23, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will begin a new era with its GR010 HYBRID Hypercar when the road to the Le Mans 24 Hours opens at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the opening round of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on 1 May.
A direct successor to the legendary Group C period of the 1980s and 1990s, the spectacular LMP1 era has reached its conclusion, handing over the top category of endurance racing to the Le Mans Hypercar generation.
Reigning World Champion and three-time Le Mans winner TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is the first manufacturer on the Hypercar grid in 2021, alongside Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, with Audi, Ferrari, Peugeot and Porsche among those joining the battle in the coming years.
Corvette Racing Ready to Unleash C8.R at Spa
Chevy race team plans to use Spa-Francorchamps round of WEC season to prepare for 24 Hours of Le Mans. Richard Prince/Chevy Racing
Corvette Racing plans to use the Six Hours of Spa race as a warmup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Six Hours at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium is May 1.
Corvette Racing passed on Le Mans last year due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, but plans to race in France at this year s 24 in August.
Corvette Racing s next step in a planned return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a little side trip to Belgium and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Where To Watch Tomorrow s Racing Feast
Tomorrow marks the busiest day of the 2021 racing season to date. This is what you need to know. Dan Istitene - Formula 1Getty Images
Auto racing has come back slowly this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the postponement or cancelation of season openers for Formula 1, IndyCar, and the FIA World Endurance Championship, and schedule gaps created by those delays mean Formula 1 has raced only once and IndyCar has yet to race, well into Spring. That largely changes tomorrow.
The first great racing day of the season means the first confusing schedule of the season, though. Somehow, both NASCAR and IndyCar are racing at the same time tomorrow, despite neither having a major television competitor to hold their scheduling back. Formula 1, meanwhile, is back in Europe, which means early start times that are unfriendly to East coast viewers and even worse for the rest of North America.
Alonso: ‘Bad news’ for Ferrari if we fight them
Date published:
April 5 2021
Fernando Alonso is not expecting to fight Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship in 2021, saying it would be “bad news” for his former team if Alpine did.
The Spaniard provided one of the main highlights during the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix when involved in a mini three-car battle with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – but a pesky sandwich wrapper ultimately ensured Alonso’s return to Formula 1 started with a DNF.
Alpine’s position in the Formula 1 pecking order is still a little difficult to call after a low-key start to the season, but Alonso is not expecting his team to be fighting with Ferrari on a regular basis, nor seeing them as a direct rival in the Constructors’ battle.
Kobayashi envisaged F1 race wins for Toyota
Date published:
April 1 2021
Ex-F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi has revisited his Toyota days, stating the team would have won races if they had stayed another year.
Toyota made their first Formula 1 appearance in 2002 and by the end of 2009, the Japanese manufacturer had 13 podium finishes to show for their efforts.
But the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved to be their final race in Formula 1, leaving Kobayashi, a driver backed by Toyota, without a drive.
Asked on the Beyond the Grid Podcast if he knew Toyota were set to leave Formula 1, he said: “No. I knew there were rumours about it, but normally teams don’t quit straight away, usually they have one more year.