Toyota’s Nakajima Predicts No More ‘First’ Group in Hypercar

Photo: Javier Jimenez/DPPI

Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe vice-chairman Kazuki Nakajima says he does not expect there to be a ‘first’ and ‘second’ of Hypercar manufacturers in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season, tipping last year’s newcomers for big progress.

Nakajima made the comments on the eve of this week’s Prologue test in Qatar ahead of the season-opening round at the same venue next week, as Toyota aims to defend its manufacturers’ crown and regain the drivers’ title it lost to Porsche last year.

Together with Porsche and Ferrari, Toyota was part of a clear group of leading manufacturers in 2024, winning all eight races between them and occupying the top three spots in the championship, with the rest much further behind.

But Nakajima believes that the likes of BMW and Alpine, who both had their first seasons in Hypercar last year, will be capable of challenging the traditional ‘big three’, referencing the progress made by Porsche and Ferrari in their second seasons.

“It will be interesting to see the progress of the others, as we saw Ferrari and Porsche take quite a big step from the first season over the winter,” Nakajima told Sportscar365. “I think this year, there won’t be a ‘first group’ and ‘second group’.

“My expectation is that the field will be closer. Last year BMW and Alpine showed very good potential from halfway through the season, so I am sure they will be fighting this year for victories and podiums.

“That makes WEC even more interesting for the fans, but on the other side it makes our challenge even bigger. This is what we have to face, but it’s the same for everyone.”

Nakajima acknowledged that more manufacturers capable of fighting for victories will mean Toyota, which had been the dominant force in the WEC’s top class from 2018 until the 2023 season, will struggle to, or even fail to, score points on occasion.

“That will probably be a fact and something that everyone has to face sometimes,” he said. “We need to stay patient, because it will happen.

“The championship is also different this year, because two cars will score points for the manufacturers’ championship. It might be the case that not only pure performance decides the championship. Execution, making no mistakes, and consistency will be key.

“Regardless of the rules, this is always our target, but it’s something we have to focus even more on this season.”

Mike Conway, who shares the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries as part of an unchanged roster of drivers across both of the Japanese manufacturer’s cars, echoed Nakajima’s comments.

“With the competition getting closer and closer, you have to score points when you can and minimize mistakes,” Conway told Sportscar365. “Penalties seem to be getting more and more [frequent], so if we can reduce those, it will be important.

“Some variables are out of control obviously, but we have a solid car, solid crew, solid drivers and we can definitely execute well.”

Nakajima added that he is expecting Toyota to face a difficult start to its campaign this weekend based on the GR010’s showing at Qatar last year, where the Cologne-based outfit’s two cars ended up finishing in fifth and eighth.

“To be honest, last year Qatar was one of the most difficult races for us, and we expect it to be not easy again,” he said. “You can estimate the numbers from last year to this year.

“Let’s see what we can extract from it, but last year we still had a few manufacturers who were racing for the first time in the WEC [who will be stronger this year].”