TOYOTA RACING returns to the track after a seven-week summer break, aiming to strengthen its campaign in the title fight for the World Endurance Championship. The Lone Star Le Mans race, held at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, will take place this Sunday (the 6th). With two wins so far this season — including the 24 Hours of Le Mans — TOYOTA RACING leads the World Constructors’ Championship ahead of the fifth round of the WEC in 2026.
At the halfway point of the season, the trio of car number 7 (TR010 HYBRID) — comprising Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries — is tied for the lead in the drivers’ standings. Their teammates, Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryō Hirakawa, are also in the title fight with car number 8 (TR010 HYBRID), sitting 19 points behind.
“We’ve enjoyed great moments in the first half of the season, especially the victories at Le Mans and Imola, but we’ve also faced tough situations. The last race in São Paulo was disappointing, and we learned from that experience. It’s fantastic to be in such a strong position in both World Championships, but the competition is fierce; therefore, we cannot slip up in the second half of the season, starting with Austin,” says Kamui Kobayashi, driver of car 7 and team principal.
Just like the previous round in Interlagos, the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a track that runs counter-clockwise. One of its most distinctive features is the steep climb toward Turn 1, followed by a sequence of fast, long-radius corners.
The demanding 5.513 km layout also includes one of the season’s most intense braking zones, where the cars slow from more than 300 km/h to around 60 km/h to negotiate Turn 12. In eight races at COTA, the team has claimed seven podiums and one pole position, but now seeks its first victory at the circuit.
To accelerate preparations for this year’s race, TOYOTA RACING conducted a two-day test in Austin at the end of July, with all six main drivers taking part.
“Austin is a great place for a race. We all really enjoy being there. It was very good to run on-site tests a few weeks ago, especially because our car has evolved since last year’s race. We hope that gives us a strong early advantage in terms of car setup and tires. The São Paulo stage wasn’t easy for us, but we’re working hard to extract the maximum from our car and achieve a better result at COTA,” says Brendon Hartley, who is the winningest driver in the event’s history alongside Timo Bernhard with three consecutive victories between 2015 and 2017.
The data gathered during the test will help engineers and drivers optimize the setups and strategies during race week, which starts with free practice on Friday (4). Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday at 17:40, while the six-hour race begins on Sunday at 15:00 (Brasília time).
In addition to the on-track activities, visitors to COTA will have the chance to meet some TOYOTA RACING drivers during an autograph session on Saturday in the Fan Zone. Concurrently, Toyota’s hydrogen technology will be showcased at the University of Texas stand in Austin, also within the Fan Zone.
