Tag: Motorsport News

Here’s our first look at the new Toyota GR010 hybrid hypercar, the car Toyota will take to the World Endurance Championship.

This is the car that Toyota hopes will continue it’s winning ways in the World Endurance Championship as several familiar faces make up the driver line-up for 2021.

Powering the #7 car will be Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria López, while Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley will pilot the #8 car, with the season starting in March 2021.

Underneath the Toyota GR010 hybrid is a 3.5-litre V6 engine with twin turbos producing 670bhp, plus a 268bhp electric motor on the front axle. In competition, though, the new hyperclass class in WEC will limit Toyota’s overall power to 670bhp and thus, at times, the car will be powered solely by that combustion engine sending all of its performance towards the rear wheels, while at other times during the race, the electric motor will be called upon to send power to the front wheels and become four-wheel drive. Interestingly, the use of electric power is only permitted above 75mph, which should give drivers a huge punch of torque out of corners.

Different to last year’s Toyota TS050 race car, the GR010 doesn’t receive a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) at the rear, which means Toyota had to fit new hydraulic rear brakes and a starter motor. The engine in last year’s racer was also a miniscule 2.4-litre, which has seen it grow to 3.5-litres for 2021. Despite this, power is actually down 32% on last year’s car due to the new restrictions put in place by the FIA to reduce the costs of competition.

Aerodynamically, the Toyota GR010 hybrid is also at a disadvantage to its predecessor, gaining 162kg in weight, but also increasing its overall dimensions handsomely. There isn’t any fancy adjustable aerodynamics either, just an adjustable rear wing. The rest remains fixed, unlike last year’s that saw high or low downforce body panels.

While Toyota plans to build the GR010 hybrid as a roadgoing hypercar, it is being reported that the road car’s engine will instead be based upon the previous race car’s 2.4-litre hybrid unit. While that car made around 1000bhp in race form, expect that figure to be cut slightly for the production version.

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In a shock move, Audi has announced plans to ditch Formula E and instead make a return to endurance racing as well as other forms of motorsport.

There is no word on when, but Audi has confirmed that it will return to the highest level of endurance racing, meaning it will end its endeavours in Formula E.

It is said that Audi will enter the Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) bracket, which debuts in 2022 for the World Endurance Championship, and is building a car for that purpose. The LMDh car takes one International Motor Sports Association prototype and adds in a 40hp mandatory kinetic energy recovery system.

By choosing a car that will meet the LMDh regulations, it opens the door for Audi to compete in the WEC series, which sees highlight races at the Daytona 24H and of course the Le Mans 24H.

Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH, commented: “We are evaluating other possible fields of activity for us in international motorsport… In doing so, we have our customers’ wishes in mind as much as the company’s future strategy, which is clearly focused on electrification and carbon-neutral mobility. This why we are intensively preparing to enter the new sports prototype category LMDh with its highlight races, the Daytona 24 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours. The most important message for our fans is that motorsport will continue to play an important role at Audi.”

Audi heads to the Dakar Rally

This sits alongside news that Audi will also compete in the Dakar Rally for the first time in its history in 2022 with an innovative porotype. The alternative drive concept combines an electric drivetrain with a high-voltage battery and a highly efficient energy converter for the first time. Cross-country rallying will be the spearhead of the factory motorsport commitment in the future.

The Dakar Rally will replace Audi’s factory involvement in Formula E, which will no longer be continued in the form of an Audi factory team after the 2021 season. The use of the newly developed Audi powertrain by customer teams will remain possible beyond next year.

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Motorsport UK are offering the motorsport community the chance to nominate in the 2020 club and volunteer of the year awards to celebrate standout efforts by the organisations and people who have helped keep motorsport alive through these unprecedented times.

In a normal year, the Club and Volunteer of the Year awards are an opportunity to make some noise on behalf of the grassroots clubs and volunteers who keep the sport thriving and deserve particular praise for going that extra mile. This is of course not a normal year by any stretch of the imagination, but the motivation to celebrate the achievements of organisations and people very much remains and Motorsport UK is inviting nominations for these prestigious awards.

The Club of the Year has been awarded for the last 27 years, and in 2019 the Clitheroe and District Motor Club won the honour as they worked tirelessly to ensure safe and low-cost motorsport is available to all, regardless of background. Previous winners have included the Enniskillen Motor Club, Southsea Motor Club and many others from across the UK.

Held for the last 17 years, the Volunteer of the Year award similarly rewards the hard work of the army of unpaid enthusiasts helping keep events running. Dave Read was awarded the Volunteer of the Year title in 2019 for his dedication to organising the North West Stages Rally.

In light of this year’s lockdown afflicted season, the categories for 2020 have changed slightly and will now comprise Club of the Year, Organising Team of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Community Supporter of the Year, with the last award open to nominations from family members or friends as well as clubs.

The Organising Team of the Year award will be judged on application of Motorsport UK’s ‘Getting Back On Track’ guidelines, managing COVID-19 safe events for all participants and attendees and the successful implementation of social distancing and other measures.

Last but not least, Community Supporter of the Year will be awarded to a member of the motorsport community who has inspired and supported their local community through supporting vulnerable people during lockdown, working on the healthcare frontline or supporting charities through this time of crisis.

Nominations close on 1st November 2020. For further information on the judging criteria and how to submit your entry please visit – www.motorsportuk.org/2020-club-and-volunteer-nominations/

Head of Sport Promotion at Motorsport UK Ian Berry said: “2020 has certainly been a challenging year, especially for all the volunteers who work tirelessly to make motorsport events happen. Our Club and Volunteer of the Year titles are some of our most prestigious awards, and this year we want to further showcase the passion and dedication of the motorsport community. In 2020, we are awarding two extra titles to highlight excellence and true community spirit, as we search for Organising Team of the Year and Community Supporter of the Year.

“There is so much work done across the country by our volunteers every weekend throughout the year, and we want to reward that commitment and shout about the excellent work in the sport and our members in the wider community.”

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