Toyota eyes third car, but not until 2026

WEC

Toyota is evaluating an expansion of its presence in the World Endurance Championship – and not just for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Japanese manufacturer has revealed that an additional GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar, run under a different banner to the two Toyota Gazoo Racing factory entries as per series rules, is already under discussion for a full championship campaign. But it wouldn’t happen until 2026. It is already too late to press the button on an extra car for next season.

“We see what Ferrari is doing with its customer or satellite car, and we like that,” said Toyota race director Rob Leupen. “Clearly running an extra car gives you more possibilities, so it is is something we are looking into. We are reviewing it.”

But Leupen stressed that it is already too late to make the decision for next year. “If we were going to do it next year, we would have had to have made the decision already, and at the moment nothing is decided,” he explained. “It cannot be a short-term decision because we know what the lead times for all the components would be in the current circumstances.”

Leupen explained that if the decision was made to have an extra GR010 on the grid, he favours going the Ferrari route. AF Corse, the factory team, also runs the third