Conway: Toyota close to Audi but “work cut out” to rival Porsche

Toyota won at Silverstone in 2014, when Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi went on to be crowned world champions and the brand also won the manufacturers’ title.

But after a disastrous 2015 for Toyota, Conway believes the new TS050 will be back in the hunt for honours this year. His car was 1.8s off the Porsche pace, but less than a tenth off the quickest Audi in practice.

“We knew Porsche would be strong, they’re the ones to beat obviously,” said Conway. “I think we’re close to Audi – but I think different tracks will suit different cars. It’s hard to tell.

“It looks like Porsche has an advantage for sure. The lap they did this morning, in those conditions, was quite quick. We’ve got our work cut out this weekend.”

Le Mans a different story

Like Audi’s Lucas di Grassi told Motorsport.com, Conway thinks the Le Mans 24 Hours is the event where the formbook is most likely to be shaken up.

“It will play out as the season goes on – Le Mans will be a different thing altogether due to the different aero kits,” he said.

“It’s been interesting, we saw some interesting things in the Prologue and here in practice today.

“We don’t fully know yet, we’ll know a bit more after qualifying and after six hours of racing on Sunday.”