Toyota Racing returns from a seven-week summer break for round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday 6 September. The Japanese manufacturer leads the manufacturers’ standings after two wins this season, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, and has one crew tied for the lead of the drivers’ championship. Austin is also the one WEC venue where Toyota has never won.

Toyota Racing arrives in Texas with the strongest hand in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, but with unfinished business at a circuit that has repeatedly denied it a win. The Lone Star Le Mans, round five of the season, takes place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Sunday 6 September.

Two crews, one championship fight

Two victories so far this season, one of them the Le Mans 24 Hours, have put Toyota at the top of the manufacturers’ World Championship at the halfway point of the year.

In the drivers’ standings, the #7 TR010 Hybrid crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are tied on points at the top of the table. Their team-mates Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa sit 19 points back in the #8 car and remain in contention.

The team goes to Austin looking to recover from São Paulo, where neither TR010 Hybrid scored a single point.

“It’s great to be in such a strong position in both World Championships but the competition is intense so we can’t afford any mistakes over the second half of the season, starting in Austin,” said team principal and #7 driver Kamui Kobayashi.

A circuit that has always resisted

Like Interlagos, COTA runs anti-clockwise. Its signature feature is the steep climb to Turn 1, followed by a run of fast, sweeping corners. The 5.513 km (3.426-mile) lap also contains one of the heaviest braking zones of the WEC calendar, where cars scrub off speed from more than 300 km/h (186 mph) to roughly 60 km/h (37 mph) for Turn 12.

Toyota’s record there is consistent without ever being decisive: eight races have produced seven podium finishes and one pole position, but no win.

Mike Conway expects the lap to demand a compromise. “It’s a fun track to drive, with a bit of everything; high-speed corners and a technical final sector,” the #7 driver said. “We need to work hard on car set-up early in the week to make sure we’re strong over the complete lap, and in race trim.”

Testing done before the trucks arrived

Rather than rely on the race weekend alone, Toyota ran a two-day test at Austin in late July with all six race drivers taking part. The data from those days is intended to shorten the set-up work once running begins, and both #8 drivers pointed to it as an advantage.

“It was particularly good to test there a few weeks ago, especially because our car has evolved since last year’s race,” Brendon Hartley said. “Hopefully that gives us a useful head start in terms of set-ups and tyres.”

For Hirakawa there is an added incentive: Fuji Speedway, the team’s home race, follows Austin. “Everyone in the team wants to be in a strong position in the World Championship when we meet our Japanese fans and colleagues,” he said.

What it means

With half the season gone and two cars still live in the title fight, Austin is less about a statement win than about stopping the bleeding after Brazil. A clean double points finish would keep Toyota ahead in the manufacturers’ table heading into a home round where the pressure will be higher.

Facts: 2026 Lone Star Le Mans

  • Circuit: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas — 5.513 km (3.426 miles), anti-clockwise
  • Round: Five of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship
  • Free practice: Friday 4 September
  • Qualifying: Saturday, 3.40pm local time (10.40pm CEST)
  • Race: Sunday 6 September, 1pm local time (8pm CEST), six hours
  • Toyota entries: #7 TR010 Hybrid (Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries), #8 TR010 Hybrid (Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa)
  • Toyota’s COTA record: Eight starts, seven podiums, one pole, no wins

Away from the track, Toyota drivers will appear at an autograph session in the fan zone on Saturday at 5.10pm, and the company’s hydrogen technology will be displayed at the University of Texas at Austin stand in the same area.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu