6 Hours of Barcelona: Free Practice - Track action begins for TOYOTA RACING in Spain

TOYOTA RACING made an encouraging start to the penultimate round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season during the opening practice sessions for the 6 Hours of Barcelona.

After winning at Fuji Speedway in the last race, TOYOTA RACING leads the manufacturers’ and drivers’ World Championships, with the possibility of securing both titles this weekend. To do so, it must overcome a closely-matched Hypercar field on a track hosting its first WEC race.

The TR010 HYBRID recorded its first laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in two 90-minute sessions and a busy day ended with both cars in the top 10. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were fifth fastest in the #7, while Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa – who lead the drivers’ standings – were eighth in the #8.

The WEC’s only previous visit to Barcelona was the pre-season Prologue test in 2019, while the team tested on the track in 2021. Engineers and drivers therefore worked intensively during Friday’s two sessions to analyse the behaviour of the Michelin tyres and adjust set-ups for the 4.657km circuit, which features a slightly different layout compared to the team’s previous visits.

Work got underway late on a warm, dry morning with a productive first session without interruptions. Sébastien’s lap put the #8 TR010 HYBRID in sixth place at the end, while Nyck’s best time earned 11th for the #7.

Engineers used the three-and-a-half hours before second practice to analyse tyre data and optimise set-ups. Another trouble-free session brought more experience with the tyres and progress on car balance. Nyck’s lap earned fifth place for the #7 and Ryō recorded the best time in the #8 for eighth.

The team has a final opportunity to fine-tune the performance of its TR010 HYBRIDs in third practice, which takes place for Hypercars on Saturday lunchtime. Hypercar qualifying takes place at 3.40pm CEST on Saturday, while the 6 Hours of Barcelona begins at midday on Sunday.

Quotes:

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It’s nice to be back in Barcelona. We’ve not been here since we tested in 2021, so it’s our first time here with the TR010 HYBRID. The track is a bit different since then, so it was a bit like learning a new track. We saw that there is quite a lot of tyre degradation, so we are trying to figure out how to manage that and have a good car balance. We’re still working on this and hopefully we will find improvements.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It’s good to be back here in Barcelona. It’s been a while. Today we were just trying to learn as much as we can about the tyres and how to manage them in the race. The target was to complete a lot of laps and we achieved that. We tried some set-up things as well and I think it was a productive day.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “I think it's been a decent day overall. Tyre degradation will be a hot topic here this weekend, unless it rains for the race. We made a positive start, but we still have some performance to find, especially when it comes to tyre and race strategy, but we are getting there.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It was a good first day. I’m happy to start my 100th WEC race weekend with a lot of laps. As always, it's a very tight field, so it's going to be important to optimise our car and adapt to the conditions. We know how hard it is to pass here, so hopefully we can have a strong qualifying. It's been a positive start. Now we will analyse the data for tomorrow.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was a clean and positive day. Some teams have tested here but we haven’t, so we had a bit of catching up to do. I think we're all up to speed now. We're a bit behind a couple of our competitors, but we’ve learned a lot about the tyres, so I think there's everything to play for on Sunday.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a very busy day as it’s obviously a new track for us with the TR010 HYBRID. We explored different set-ups and focused mainly on the longer runs. It seems like we made a good start, which is encouraging for the rest of the weekend. So far, given the experience we have at this track with our car, we had a very productive day. Now it’s about fine-tuning for tomorrow.”

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