What a ride it has been for Toyota. Heading into the 6 Hours of Monza for the final round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, TOYOTA RACING technical director David Floury has been looking back at an extraordinary clean sweep that secured both the Manufacturers' crown and a top two lockout in the Hypercar Drivers' championship. After a more challenging 2025 campaign where they missed out on the podium prior to Bahrain, the Japanese marque bounced back in style.
To reclaim the top spot, Toyota unleashed the TR010 HYBRID. The machine was built not just for sporting progress, but to match a modern design language while being more user-friendly for the drivers, easier for engineers to set up, and consistent across all conditions. Still, Floury carries the scars of the past—specifically when the #5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid retired from the lead just four minutes from victory at Le Mans in 2016. "I rarely believe anything is finished until one crosses the finish line, and I'm not naturally over-confident," he says.
Defending our titles will be tough, but we're eager to go again next year,
That caution proved wise as the season unfolded. At the Imola curtain-raiser, celebrating Toyota's 100th FIA WEC start, they relied on strategy and execution rather than pure pace to edge out Ferrari for their 50th series triumph. Le Mans was similarly brutal; the #7 and #8 cars were not the fastest, but after overcoming issues on both machines, the #7 took victory and the #8 finished third to collect 80 points. That built a 36-point cushion over BMW, though an American leg to forget—including a 12th and 17th in São Paulo and a heartbreaking hydraulic failure for the race-leading #7 driven by Nyck de Vries just minutes from the finish in Austin—shrank their margin.
Toyota's response was ruthless. Team principal Kamui Kobayashi acknowledged the Austin blow, but Floury demanded better, noting that reliability issues simply should not happen. They bounced back with a home victory at Fuji using flawless late-race tactics, before producing an outright masterclass in Barcelona. The abrasive asphalt at Catalunya suited a Hypercar famously gentle on its tyres, catching even Floury off-guard as they won on raw performance without any prior testing at the venue.
Now, the season wraps up at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza with both world titles already locked up, giving the squad some breathing room. It also marks the final outing for Mike Conway, who has decided to hang up his helmet for good. Scouted after impressing in the LMP2 category with the #26 G-Drive ORECA 03 in 2013, the British driver joined Toyota in 2014 and went on to claim two Le Mans wins and two world titles alongside the team.
Looking ahead to 2027, the challenge only intensifies. With legendary entrants like McLaren and Ford joining the fray, the Hypercar grid will expand to at least nine manufacturers. "Defending our titles will be tough, but we're eager to go again next year," Floury promises, ready for another ferocious fight against top-class rivals like BMW M Team WRT.
