David Floury, the technical director of Toyota Racing, described the late hydraulic fault that prevented Nyck de Vries, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi from clinching victory in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas as an unforeseen problem the team had never encountered before.
The No. 7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid appeared to be on track to claim the FIA World Endurance Championship win after a strong stint from de Vries propelled it to the lead by the fourth hour.
Yet the Toyota retired with only 12 minutes remaining in the six-hour race when a hydraulic issue caused a loss of power-assisted steering, forcing de Vries to halt the car.
The outcome was particularly painful for the Toyota squad as they were on course to extend their drivers’ championship lead to 25 points, with their nearest rivals, the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8, also failing to score.
Adding to the disappointment, the No. 8 Toyota’s energy-management strategy was overshadowed by a Virtual Safety Car, and it also incurred a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, leaving it in sixth place.
“When contending for a championship, every element must be flawless, and today we had an issue with car No. 8 that triggered a drive-through and a problem with car No. 7 that forced retirement, so there is little cause for celebration,” Floury said.
“To contest for the title you must seize every chance, and we did not do so here. We should look only at ourselves for what occurred today.”
“In the end, we return with little to show, not enough to satisfy our expectations.”
De Vries described the late setback as a “very sad conclusion to a great day” and noted that “you don’t believe it at first.”
He added that the problem “arrived quite abruptly” with little warning that anything was wrong.
“In the lap before, I began noticing some unusual sounds and sensations but didn’t dwell on them at the moment,” he explained.
“Then, as we exited Turn 9, the power steering failed and a hydraulic warning appeared, and with the power steering and gear shifts gone, that was it.”
“We were in position when it counted, executed the necessary moves, and positioned ourselves well to collect valuable championship points, but sadly it wasn’t to be.”
“It’s disappointing for everyone to miss out on this chance, yet it’s a technical sport and these things can occur.”
“Racing can swing in your favor or against you. We’re very disappointed and unfortunate, but you have to accept it and move forward.”
Floury would not go into the specifics of the issue with the No. 8 car that led to the speeding penalty while Ryo Hirakawa was driving, but he stated: “Regardless of the cause, we should not experience such a problem.”
The sixth-placed finish meant Toyota marginally extended its manufacturers’ championship lead over BMW to nine points with three races remaining.
It also meant that the No. 8 crew of Hirakawa, Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley was now fourth in the drivers’ standings, 11 points off the lead, which remains shared by the No. 7 trio and BMW’s Rene Rast and Robin Frijns.
