Toyota has just announced the fact that it will participate in the next year’s season of 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Their weapon of choice for this well known endurance competition will be a new race car powered by a petrol hybrid powertrain, on which the engine will be produced by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan and the chassis will be built by Toyota Motorsport in Germany based on the LMP1 specifications.
The 2012 Le Mans 20 Hours is just one of the races part of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship in which Toyota wants to enter next year, with these competitions enabling the Japanese company to further explore the hybrid technology.
Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota Motor Corporation Senior Managing Officer and
Toyota Motorsport Chairman, said that : "Toyota has entered Le Mans before,
but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new
challenge. We want to write a new chapter in the history of the Le Mans
24 Hours, as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of
hybrid technology.
"In addition, we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a
challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production car
technology. Le Mans is a legendary race and I would like to thank the
ACO and the FIA for their constructive and positive co-operation over
the last few months."
Toyota’s previous participation on the Le Mans 24 Hours as a manufacturer was in the late 90s.
14 Oct 2011
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