[WEC] Toyota LMP1 Discussion

[nobster]

I guess Toyota will never ever win Le Mans, after last year they were back in full force but again bad reliability struck them.

[tyronnezx]

These are testing times for a Toyota fan. You can’t help but to agree with the comments made by Toyoda and Chaunac.

Apparently. They will be back.....
https://www.motorsport.com/lemans/ne...ns-win-920336/

With the new 2020 rules, things are set to get even more complicated. Shows why a basic LMP2 car very nearly won the race and toppled Porsche. Im sure Toyota will be eating their words by now. They wanted relevant tech, got it, and had their arse handed. Didn't help that Porsche pushed the living daylights off the Toyota and nearly took themselves out of contention. Maybe they should pack up and head to Tour De France with their buddies at Honda. No engines to break there.

[ederss7]

I remember one of the Toyota staff saying how they learned after 2012 about the importance of serviceability. They were inspired a lot by Audi in that area. Also, We have to remember that cars are different. It's difficult to compare them from outside.

[tigas]

Originally Posted by ederss7

I remember one of the Toyota staff saying how they learned after 2012 about the importance of serviceability. They were inspired a lot by Audi in that area. Also, We have to remember that cars are different. It's difficult to compare them from outside.

They haven't learned enough.

Also, I strongly disagree with De Chaunac's comments, who look to me like sour grapes. Toyota's Research and Development arm is paying for the party, and the racing team can only race what it's given.

[porsche962fan]

just one question

Was Toyota ever succesfully in something significant ???


their F1 venture was truly pathetic

their super tourer days didn't fair better


their rally may had some results but they were caught cheating


at Le Mans they are truly pathetic since the 80s despite massive budgets

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

just one question

Was Toyota ever succesfully in something significant ???


their F1 venture was truly pathetic

their super tourer days didn't fair better


their rally may had some results but they were caught cheating


at Le Mans they are truly pathetic since the 80s despite massive budgets

They basically ran all other manufacturers out of IMSA GTP in the early 90s after having also had some success in GTO before that. And Lexus are doing a good job in Super GT.

[bentley speed 8]

They haven't yet managed to win Le Mans, but considering their efforts "pathetic" is kind of a long shot...
Have to agree on F1

[TF110]

Forgot about the multiple WRC championships?

Where are all these anti Toyota comments coming from? Toyota said that they changed the battery as a precaution. That took another 45 minutes. Just because some of us on the forum saw the windscreen off doesn't mean it was a much harder job to do than the Porsche. The difference in time would have been a few minutes if it weren't for the battery being changed. So maybe the next time (if there is one) they'll just do the mgu instead.

You can't fault Toyota for what happened to the #9. That was driver error on both ends. The #7 had a stupid failure that should never had happened. It seems like the start stop start stop is the deal, not that the clutch was fragile. If it's designed for starting on electric power coming out of the pits, that's what it's designed for. It did that numerous times, but twice it started without it(?) and caused the issue? They'll be back next year and they still have the car to beat right now in the WEC so they should be able to challenge for the world titles. That'll be some condolence for this failure.

[kaivo]

Funny guy was Vincent Capillaire . Any word from FA about this ?
http://www.express.de/sport/motorspo...-team-27818220

[TF110]

Originally Posted by kaivo

Funny guy was Vincent Capillaire . Any word from FA about this ?
http://www.express.de/sport/motorspo...-team-27818220

The real Marshall's expression says it all "what is this guy doing"?

[XtC24]

DSQ For The Rebelion.
Toyota will get a little more WEC points i guess.

[Articus]

D

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by XtC24

DSQ For The Rebelion.
Toyota will get a little more WEC points i guess.

I thought it was where they were in the class, not where they actually finished?

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I thought it was where they were in the class, not where they actually finished?

All LMPs earn points together regardless of class, it's overall classification by LMP. I'm assuming if a GTE snuck in to 10, the points would skip that position and award the next LMP 10th place points?

[TF110]

Posted this on the future rules thread, but here is Toyota's chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, stating they'll be back next year http://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/detail/17148283

With this never-give-up attitude, we will again search for the elements that have eluded us and be back here again next year. I hope we will once again be able to enjoy your support..

[porsche962fan]

they should just enter 10 cars as a precaution, maybe at least one will be intact at the front for once...

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by kaivo

Funny guy was Vincent Capillaire . Any word from FA about this ?
http://www.express.de/sport/motorspo...-team-27818220

Not so "funny" when you realize that the resulting start-stop-start procedure very likely led to the clutch failure on the #7 car...

Capillaire should be banned from driving in Le Mans. Period.

And I am not a Toyota fanboy...

[TF110]

The team's race report seems to suggest that the tire flailing around caused the stuck gear because it ruined the hydraulics https://www.racingbytmg.com/le-mans-...-gazoo-racing/

An accident put the #9 of Nicolas Lapierre, Yuji Kunimoto and José MarÃ*a López out just minutes after the #7 stopped, when it was hit from behind by an LMP2 car, causing a puncture and damaging the hydraulics. That left the car unable to shift gear and it retired on track just a few hundred metres from the pits at 1.35am.

The puncture caused the damage to the hydraulics which resulted in being stuck in 5th. If Lapierre drove slower, perhaps they make it back? You could see he was going too fast and the team had to instruct him to slow down.

[ederss7]

But if he went slower, wouldn't he just let the engine die? (because of 5th gear)

[Articus]

Originally Posted by TF110

The team's race report seems to suggest that the tire flailing around caused the stuck gear because it ruined the hydraulics https://www.racingbytmg.com/le-mans-...-gazoo-racing/

The puncture caused the damage to the hydraulics which resulted in being stuck in 5th. If Lapierre drove slower, perhaps they make it back? You could see he was going too fast and the team had to instruct him to slow down.

When I really think about it, I think the hydraulics went almost immediately after the tire exploded. And furthermore, the puncture and tire explosion must have occurred at the same time.

If he was stuck in 5th gear, then he had to have been in 5th gear before the tire exploded and severed the hydraulics. 5th gear is pretty high speed.

If he was just driving around as fast as 5th gear with a puncture, and then later on the tire exploded, then Lapierre will probably never see the inside of a Toyota LMP again...

[AoB Special Stage]

Toyota sending every single team they have anywhere on Earth next year confirmed.

[awegrzyn]

Something does not add up here.

Kobayashi's clutch problem started when he left the pits (before the green light). He drove the car around. He had to, as on the video it shows him passing the start finish line.

That means Toyota/Kobayashi screwed up big time by not going into the pits. He KNEW about the problem. I'm not sure if Toyota knew. This guy Kobayashi is bad news. I think this is his 3rd time for him in Le Mans with problems.

I don't understand how the best drivers in the world with 100 of millions of dollars do not have instructions on how to behave during problems. How can you drive like a mad man with a blow tire?

To me this year's Le Mans problems was not really Toyota's jinx. It was driver/Toyota errors.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by awegrzyn

Something does not add up here.

Kobayashi's clutch problem started when he left the pits (before the green light). He drove the car around. He had to, as on the video it shows him passing the start finish line.

That means Toyota/Kobayashi screwed up big time by not going into the pits. He KNEW about the problem. I'm not sure if Toyota knew. This guy Kobayashi is bad news. I think this is his 3rd time for him in Le Mans with problems.

I don't understand how the best drivers in the world with 100 of millions of dollars do not have instructions on how to behave during problems. How can you drive like a mad man with a blow tire?

To me this year's Le Mans problems was not really Toyota's jinx. It was driver/Toyota errors.

I don't agree. Kobayashi has been exceptional and error free.
They were running under a safety car. He probably did not know that the car didn't have full power. It was only under the green flag after the pit entry that he went for it, and the clutch presumably gave up under power.

Last year final lap was Kazuki Nakajima. The year before that was also Kazuki Nakajima when the ACO transponder caught fire and killed the electronics. It was also Nakajima that infamously took out the Nissan delta wing one of these years. I think you have the Japanese drivers mixed up.

Kamui Kobayashi
Kazuki Nakajima

.....


Now, Nico Lapierre in fact is lacking when it comes to dealing with tire punctures. This isn't even the first time he has done this in a Toyota iirc.

[chernaudi]

Maybe Toyota didn't tell him of the issue because he/they didn't know until they tried to go back green. You can't exactly tell you have a clutch problem until you upshift out of first gear, which almost all LM cars do pit speed/FCY speed in first, even the Porsche 919s that almost never use first gear except to get on and off pit road (the 919s always used second gear at Mulsanne and Arnage, like all Audi LMP1s did before the R18).

You have to remember that Buemi said he was having front brake/MGU issues but the team couldn't find anything wrong until the front brake temps spiked just before he pitted. And Seb was right, the telemetry was wrong until the last moment.

[awegrzyn]

^ Yes, I got the names wrong, but not the problem. The car had clear indication it was "cutting" coming out of the pit end (looking at replays). That is where he broke the clutch. Sitting at pit end. Restarting the car multiple times according to Toyota.

He drove behind the safety car for 1 lap with the problem. He had to know. If he never communicated then it's his fault. If he did, it's Toyota's fault.

This is not bad luck, this is stupid.