Toyota believes LMH cars are facing a clear deficit to their LMDh counterparts in what he described as a “two-class” structure heading into this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
The Japanese marque’s technical director made that comment following the opening qualifying at Circuit de la Sarthe on Wednesday, in which the top six spots were locked out by cars built on the LMDh platform.
The best LMH prototype in the Hyperar class was the non-hybrid #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, 0.642s down on the pace-setting Alpine. Toyota’s two GR010 Hybrids, also developed to LMH rules, languished in eighth and 12th.
“Not much to say, to be honest,” said Floury when asked about his assessment of Toyota’s performance. “Obviously, yesterday you see that it’s a two-class quali with LMDh on top and LMH behind.”
Asked why the LMDh cars had an advantage in a straightline, as Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R lead the charts with a top speed of 344.1km/h down the Mulsanne straight, Floury replied: “It’s not for me to answer this question.”
Pressed further if there was a reason behind why the Toyota was over 3km/h slower on the straights, he said: “Certainly, there is a reason.”
#7 Toyota Racing Toyota TR010 Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
Floury comments were an indirect reference to the Balance of Performance system governing the Hypercar class. LMDh and LMH concepts are equalised using a ‘platform BoP’, while additional parameters are used to match individual cars built to each set of rules.
Manufacturers are not allowed to discuss the BoP in public, while the actual data for each car is kept secret from the start of the 2026 World Endurance Championship.
Floury did not completely rule out Toyota’s chances of a first victory in the French endurance classic since 2022, but insisted it would be difficult for the team to stand on the top of the podium if it ended up in a direct fight with another car.
Asked whether winning the race was still possible, Floury said: “It will definitely be difficult. It’s not going to be a walk in the park, for sure. But we have to execute to perfection. If we manage to do that, maybe we can stand a chance. But once again, it will depend on the circumstances and on pure pace, and especially raceability.
“I see it as very difficult. If we are in a close fight, there is no way we can fight with this deficit. We will have to try and be clever. When you don’t have the pace, you have to get everything perfect, and sometimes also to take some risks.
“This will be calibrated as the race goes by, depending on the situation.”
