The FIA World Endurance Championship returned from its summer break at the Circuit of the Americas, where Toyota Racing opened the Lone Star Le Mans weekend with two practice sessions on Friday. The Japanese team leads the manufacturers’ World Championship going into round five, but ended the first day 12th and 15th with its two TR010 HYBRIDs. Sunday’s six-hour race is Toyota’s latest attempt to claim a first win at the Texas circuit.

Toyota Racing is back at work after a seven-week break, and the opening day of the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) gave the team plenty to work through before Sunday’s six-hour race.

A quiet Friday for both TR010 HYBRIDs

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa finished the opening day 12th fastest in the #8 TR010 HYBRID, 1.091 seconds behind the pace-setting Aston Martin. The team says the classification did not reflect the progress made across two encouraging sessions.

The sister #7 car of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries — the Le Mans 24 Hours winners, and currently tied on points at the top of the drivers’ standings — ended Friday 15th.

Leading the championship, chasing a first COTA win

Toyota arrives in Texas at the head of the manufacturers’ World Championship, with two victories this season at Imola and in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The #8 crew remains in the drivers’ title fight as well, 19 points off the leaders.

What the team has never managed is a win at COTA. From eight races at the Austin circuit it has taken seven podium finishes and one pole position, but no victory. The last round, in São Paulo, was worse still: neither car scored a point.

“We’ve had some great moments in the first half of the season, particularly winning at Le Mans and Imola, but also a few tough ones too. The last race in São Paulo was disappointing, and we’ve learned from that experience. 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.” — Kamui Kobayashi, team principal and driver, car #7

A track that punishes compromise

Like Interlagos, COTA runs anti-clockwise. The 5.513 km (3.426 mile) lap opens with the steep climb to Turn 1 and a run of fast, sweeping corners, and includes one of the heaviest braking zones of the season at Turn 12, where cars slow from over 300 km/h (186 mph) to around 60 km/h (37 mph).

To prepare, Toyota ran a two-day test in Austin in late July with all six race drivers. According to the team, the data gathered there is feeding directly into set-up and strategy work this weekend — useful, Hartley notes, because the car has evolved since last year’s race.

What it means

With the season at its halfway point and Fuji — Toyota’s home race — coming next, Friday’s timesheet matters less than the direction of travel. A weak qualifying at a circuit where track position is hard to recover would make a first COTA win unlikely; a clean six hours would tighten the team’s grip on both titles.

Facts: 2026 Lone Star Le Mans

  • Circuit: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas — 5.513 km (3.426 miles), anti-clockwise
  • Round: 5 of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship
  • Cars: #7 TR010 HYBRID (Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries), #8 TR010 HYBRID (Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa)
  • Friday practice: #8 12th, 1.091s off the pace; #7 15th
  • Qualifying: Saturday, 3.40pm local (10.40pm CEST)
  • Race: Sunday 6 September, 1pm local (8pm CEST), six hours
  • Toyota’s COTA record: eight races, seven podiums, one pole, no wins

Fans at the circuit can meet several of the team’s drivers at an autograph session in the fan zone on Saturday at 5.10pm, while Toyota’s hydrogen technology is on display at the University of Texas at Austin stand. The six-hour race starts at 1pm local time on Sunday 6 September.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu