Toyota sticks to one car for 2013 World Endurance Championship
Toyota will run just one car in the full World Endurance Championship in 2013


Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne had been working on fielding two cars in the full series, but the German organisation has confirmed rumours that it posted only one full-season entry ahead of the deadline on Wednesday.
The Japanese manufacturer will, however, enter two 2013 versions of its TS030 Hybrid at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Spa round of the WEC in May as a warm-up.
A TMG spokesman said: "It is purely a matter of resources. What we shouldn't forget is that last year was intended as a test and development year and this year was meant to be our first full season, which probably would have meant one car in the WEC."
The WEC entry will be for the #7 car to be raced by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre, who will be joined at Le Mans by Kazuki Nakajima.
The spokesman stressed that Toyota was not downgrading its aspirations for 2013 following its successful return to international sportscar racing last season.
"The target will be to win Le Mans and the world championship," he said. "We are still serious about winning."
Toyota will contest the 2013 WEC with a revised version of the TS030 Hybrid that won three races last season.
The updated car will be built around a new monocoque that eradicates the compromises in the 2012 tub, which was designed to allow the car to retrieve energy via either the front or rear axle.
AUTOSPORT SAYS
Gary Watkins
Toyota's late-season form in last year's WEC had to make it the favourite for the title ahead of the 2013 season.
Pitting just one car against two Audis over the full eight-race season against two Audis could change that.
Surely any decent bookmaker would shorten the odds on Toyota scooping the end-of-season silverware, especially the manufacturers' championship. Only the best-placed car from each marque scores points, but with all races counting, there will be no room for error for Toyota.
The drivers' championship will be slightly different, but with two cars, Audi will have more tactical flexibility. That could prove decisive.

JRM drops WEC campaign to focus on Le Mans 24 Hours
Status HVM confirms World Endurance Championship programme

Latest news
Friday Favourite: The Porsche “twins” who usurped Audi’s best
In a long career as a Porsche factory driver that yielded success in prototypes and GT cars on both sides of the Atlantic, Timo Bernhard was frequently paired up with Romain Dumas. Together, the pair were a near unstoppable force and were no less potent when they were loaned as a package to Audi
Porsche completes two-car LMDh test at Monza as US-bound chassis debuts
Porsche Penske Motorsport has begun testing a second example of the 963 LMDh contender as it ramps up preparation for its twin programmes in the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023.
The final episode on the Monza round of the FIA World Endurance Championship sees the action reach a dramatic and thrilling conclusion in the race.
Rast, Muller and Cassidy to miss Fuji WEC to focus on DTM
Rene Rast, Nico Muller and Nick Cassidy are all expected to miss the fifth round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway next month to prioritise their DTM commitments.
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return
The Peugeot 9X8 will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend. The French manufacturer has gone radical and will be hoping it doesn’t need to overhaul its contender, as it did with its first Le Mans challenger…
Why Peugeot's sportscar return will capture the imagination
OPINION: Peugeot will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend with the 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar that has ignored design conventions by eschewing a rear wing. Its distinctive look will help sportscar racing appeal to fresh audiences as a new golden era is ushered in
How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
How an Italian junior formula giant is readying for its Le Mans future
Prema remains a colossus in single-seaters, but the serial Formula 2 and Formula 3 title-winning squad has joined forces with top GT squad Iron Lynx for an attack on sportscars in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Ahead of its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its sights are firmly fixed on LMP2 glory – and a future in Hypercars next year...
The British rookies targeting a good first impression at Le Mans
Three young Britons will make their first starts in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend in the highly-competitive 23-car GTE Am field. But how did they get here? Autosport hears their stories.
The wingless wonder Peugeot hopes will restore it to Le Mans glory
Peugeot went radical with the initial plan for its Le Mans Hypercar project, and then stuck to its guns. Here’s how things are shaping up a few weeks before the debut of the 9X8 in next month's Monza World Endurance Championship round
How Toyota’s sole survivor turned the tables at Spa
After a chastening opening to the season at Sebring that ended in an enormous accident, Toyota's #7 crew got their World Endurance Championship underway with victory at a treacherously slippery Spa to make up for its sister car's Sebring defeat to Alpine, as Glickenhaus's promising qualifying turned to disaster in the race