Toyota Gazoo Racing has not finished finding the expected regularity in the 2022 WEC season. It is true that he has won the 6 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the failures and problems have been distributed among his prototypes, which has allowed the Alpine drivers to lead the World Championship. This situation forces Toyota to win at Monza, with the nuance of having greater opposition. With the debut of the two Peugeot 9X8, the firm will have to overcome three LMH and one LMP1 for the first time to achieve victory.
kamui kobayashi team manager and driver of the #7 Toyota, leads the brand’s offensive at Monza: “Seeing new manufacturers in the championship is very exciting. We give a big welcome to Peugeot, although the presence of a new manufacturer will offer more competition. It’s only been a few weeks since Le Mans, but a lot has changed. We were strong last year at Monza. Last year we achieved victory and that is the goal again. We have to work hard to prepare the car and put ourselves in position to fight for victory”.
The #7 Toyota was unlucky at Le Mans and desperately needs a win at Monza.Mike conway also a driver of the #7, added: “It seems that Le Mans has finished for nothing and we are back. My approach has changed as we didn’t get the result we expected there. Although the double points have brought us back into the fight, we need more. We were fast last year at Monza and the Toyota GR010 Hybrid is designed for circuits like this. We have to aim for victory in a weekend that should allow us to close the gap with the leaders.”
The Argentinian ‘Pechito’ Lopez the last member of Toyota #7, has reaffirmed this ambition: «Monza is a circuit that I enjoy. We got the win last year and I haven’t had a bad race there in the past. Our Toyota GR010 Hybrid feels like home. Although Le Mans was only a few weeks ago, the team has worked hard to be ready for this event. I am confident that we will have a strong car and we will be able to fight for victory even if there is more competition.
At #8, Sebastien Buemi is in charge of operations: «It was fantastic to win at Le Mans as double points put us back in contention for the title. At Le Mans we saw that there is very little difference between the Toyota crews and that everything is decided by details. I am really looking forward to continuing that fight at Monza, a track that I really enjoy. It’s great to race in Italy, it’s always nice to be back. The Italian fans are very enthusiastic and welcoming.”
Brendon Hartley He assures for his part: “Monza will be an interesting race for us, with new competition. The queen class should be more competitive than ever, so we can’t wait to take on this challenge. In #8 we go into this race full of confidence after the Le Mans result, but we know that we are facing another great challenge against the rest of the hypercar, but above all against our sister prototype. At Le Mans there was hardly any difference, so we should have a very good fight at Monza.”
Ryo Hirakawa concludes: “It has been incredible weeks. I have finally got used to what it means to win Le Mans. It was an incredible and very intense experience. Now I am full of desire to compete in Monza. I have very good memories of the track from my time in LMP2. I won there in the European Le Mans Series in 2017 after a very close race. So far it has been a good circuit for me. It’s fun to drive there, there is always a very high speed. Can’t wait to test drive the Toyota GR010 Hybrid at Monza”.