A win in the last round at Interlagos moved TOYOTA GAZOO Racing to within four points of the manufacturers’ World Championship lead but it faces a significant challenge to maintain that momentum at the Circuit of the Americas, a venue where it has yet to taste victory.

With revised power and weight parameters for this event, the GR010 HYBRIDs finished the opening day in the top 10 of a competitive 18-strong Hypercar field after WEC’s only trip to North America kicked off in intense Texan heat.

São Paulo winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa ended the day sixth in their #8 GR010 HYBRID, half a second behind the pace-setting Ferraris. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, were 10th fastest.

Two productive free practice sessions saw continuous improvement and the team is united in its efforts to extract maximum performance from its cars to deliver a substantial points haul in Sunday’s race, strengthened by its experience and team spirit.

The Texan summer lived up to expectations when Nyck and Brendon left the pit lane to start first practice and begin a comprehensive preparation programme in 30°C heat and high humidity, although a red flag after only a few moments cooled the action for around 10 minutes.

The team tested at the Circuit of the Americas last month, the first time GR010 HYBRIDs had driven in Austin. Those three days highlighted the importance of tyre management in hot temperatures on a challenging track, so a comparison of the medium and hard Michelin compounds was a priority in first practice, alongside aerodynamic and mechanical set-up work.

A 10-minute full course yellow briefly interrupted the session, which finished with the #7 GR010 HYBRID in 10th thanks to Nyck’s early lap. Brendon set the best lap in the #8 car, which finished 15th.

Second practice featured qualifying preparation in the opening minutes before the programme switched to longer stints. A mid-session red flag cost eight minutes but the team was able to complete a constructive day of practice, with Brendon’s lap at the start of the session putting the #8 in sixth. Mike’s best lap of the day for the #7, set inside the opening half hour, earned 10th.

A one-hour third practice on Saturday morning offers a final opportunity to fine-tune set-ups before qualifying and Hyperpole, which start at 3.40pm local time (10.40pm CEST). The seventh Lone Star Le Mans race starts at 1pm (8pm CEST) on Sunday.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7):

“Today we were trying to constantly improve the car. The lap times in Hypercar are very close, so we are doing our best to find more performance. To be honest we were not one of the quickest, so we need to put everything together. Getting the maximum from our car and making no mistakes will be key. We need to understand the track conditions tomorrow and prepare our car for that, so hopefully we can have a good performance.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7):

“We went through some test items and tried to figure out the tyres. The track evolution seemed quite big, so maybe that helped us because the car felt better from FP1 to FP2. There are still some strong competitors; Ferrari, Cadillac and Porsche look strong. I’m focusing on the race and trying to find a bit more pace. It’s fun out there, there’s a lot of grip, so I am sure the race is going to be exciting.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7):

“It was a very warm day here in Austin and I had a lot of fun. We had two clean and productive sessions. The track evolution was quite big, due to the new track surface. In the past we experienced a lot of bumps here but today the ride was much better. I had a good day and enjoyed driving. We looked reasonably competitive but everyone is quite close in Hypercar so it is going to be a challenge.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8):

“It’s nice to be back in Austin and to continue some of the work we started in the test. We did a lot of laps today which is positive, so we have plenty of data to analyse. It’s hot here, as expected, so tyres will be a big factor, and it was important to work on that today. We still need to work hard to improve because it is very close in Hypercar, so we will keep pushing.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8):

“It’s been a smooth day. We did some tyre testing this morning and I think we have found a clear direction for the race which is good. We looked much more competitive in FP2 after we had not looked strong in FP1. The car felt better, and we look closer now, although still a bit behind the others. We are going to work hard tonight to find more performance because we are missing some pace.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):

“It was not a bad start. I feel we made a good step from FP1 to FP2. The car felt much better as the day went on, so I am happy for that progress, but we are still not at the front and our competitors, especially Ferrari, look strong. We need to continue to improve for qualifying and the race so there’s lots to do. So far, we are doing a good job and making progress so we will keep working like this.”