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Toyota on Nurburgring struggles: “We were simply too slow”

Toyota says its failure to take the fight to Porsche and Audi in the WEC 6 Hours of Nurburgring stems from being “simply too slow” with its high-downforce aero kit.

#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima

#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima

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#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima
#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima
#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima
Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Racing technical director
#5 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima
#6 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi
#6 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi
#6 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi
#6 Toyota Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid: Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi

After showing race-winning potential at both Spa and Le Mans, the Japanese manufacturer was no match for its German rivals on Sunday, its two cars finishing a distant fifth and sixth.

All three LMP1 hybrid teams brought new aerodynamic packages for the Nurburgring race, with WEC rules allowing three different variants across the course of the season.

Technical director Pascal Vasselon explained that the main reason for Toyota’s poor showing was a simple lack of downforce on its new aero kit.

“Immediate analysis would suggest our downforce package was not as good as it was previously,” the Frenchman told Motorsport.com after the race.

“With our previous [pre-Le Mans] package we were nowhere at Silverstone for a similar reason, then in Spa we were more in the window.

“Each track has its ideal ratio, and we have a window where the package is good. Here we were a bit out of the window.

“We can expect to be more in the game at Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain, these places are much more centered for the window for our package.”

Tyre choice adds to problems

After opting to start the race on a harder Michelin tyre compound, Toyota chose to swap to softer rubber after its first two stints, much like at Spa, amid cooler than expected temperatures at the Nurburgring.

Toyota Motorsport Director Rob Leupen told Motorsport.com: “We were confident [with our tyre choice], it was a bit the Spa effect, but in the end it was not what we expected.

“We had hoped for higher temperatures but we took a wrong decision [starting on hards] which made us a bit off.

“We had good speed in practice and qualifying. Normally we are a bit more modest in qualifying and stronger in the races, but this time it didn’t pan out.”

But Vasselon said that the tyre choice mistake failed to fully account for the pace deficit of the TS050 Hybrid compared to its Porsche and Audi counterparts.

“When we were on the right tyre, we were not quick enough, we were half a second [a lap] down, which means we were simply too slow,” he admitted.

“[We changed tyre compounds] after the second stint. Even though we stabilised the gap [to Porsche and Audi], it was still developing.

"We were not quick enough, beyond the tyre.”

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