Toyota Gazoo Racing’s dreams in the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours were dashed by a gruelling contest at the Circuit de la Sarthe, where a determined team effort ended in a disappointing result.
A sell-out race week crowd of 332,000 witnessed a spectacular grid of 21 Hypercars – representing eight manufacturers – do battle as Toyota Gazoo Racing aiming for its sixth win at La Sarthe.
On the 40th anniversary of Toyota’s first Le Mans participation, the team took the fight to its rivals with effective strategy, precise driving and fighting spirit. But a promising race ultimately did not meet expectations as misfortune and a blistering pace at the front thwarted the team’s charge.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries valiantly overcame first-lap damage to recover from their disappointing qualifying. They gained 10 places and finished a hard-earned fifth in the #7 GR010 HYBRID.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa led the race at one stage and were challenging for a top-four finish when a mechanical issue cost over 20 minutes and dropped the #8 GR010 HYBRID out of contention. They eventually finished 15th.
The race started with action from the off, and both GR010 HYBRIDs gained positions during the opening hours to move towards the front. While the #8 crew fought their way into the top six, the #7 suffered bodywork damage on the first lap and later incurred a 50-second stop-go penalty for pit lane speeding.
The #8 battled into podium contention thanks to a strong pace on soft tyres through the night before a safety car at half distance created new opportunities by compressing the field. The #8 took the lead as lap 200 approached, and the #7 – with its earlier deficit now wiped out – moved into the top 10.
As the final quarter of the race approached, a strong team effort had established the #8 in the top six and in a close fight with a Ferrari and a Porsche for an even higher finish. The #7 recovered to eighth, but the pace at the front was ultimately too hot for the GR010 HYBRIDs, and the podium proved out of reach.
With four hours remaining, the #8 GR010 HYBRID’s challenge was ended when a broken component caused its front left wheel to detach. After returning to the pits on three wheels, mechanics worked together quickly to replace the front left assembly. Ryo resumed in 19th, having lost seven laps.
The #7 never stopped pushing, and Kamui’s pace over the final hours brought the #12 Cadillac – which at one stage had been a minute ahead – into range until a late drive-through penalty ended that charge.
Kamui took the flag in sixth after completing 386 laps (later promoted to 5th after #50 disqualification).
The #8 crew finished 16th, seven laps behind the winner. (later promoted to 15th due to #50 disqualification)
“Obviously, we had high hopes of fighting at the front, and we had the goal to win this race. Ultimately, we didn’t have the pace, and we had a reliability issue as well. We fought hard to the end, and I am proud of everyone in the team for the effort they put in.” said Hartley
“At one point, we were leading in the night and fighting in the podium positions, even with a lack of performance. Everyone has done a stellar job during the last two weeks, with a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice. It’s going to take a few days to regroup, recover and learn from this to fight back next year.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing has only four weeks until it returns to racing and renews its bid for the first victory of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. The 6 Hours of São Paulo takes place at Interlagos on 13 July.
Official Top 10 Classification after #50 Ferrari AF Corse Disqualification (finished 4th initially)
1st. #83 AF Corse (Ferrari 499P) – R. Kubica, Y. Ye and P. Hanson – 387 laps
2nd. #6 Porsche Penske (Porsche 963) – K.Estre, L. Vanthoor and M. Campbell – +14.084secs
3rd. #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari 499P) – A. Pier Guidi, J. Calado and A, Giovinazzi – +28.487secs
4th. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota (Cadillac V-Series.R) – W. Stevens, N. Nato and A. Lynn – +2:18.639secs
5th. #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Toyota GR010 – Hybrid) – M. Conway, K. Kobayashi and N. De Vries – +1 lap
6th. #5 Porsche Penske (Porsche 963) – J. AndLauer, M. Christensen and M. Jaminet – +1 lap
7th. #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA (Cadillac V-Series.R) – E. Bamber, S.Bourdais and J. Button – +1 lap
8th #4 Porsche Penske (Porsche 963) – F. Nasr, N. Tandy and P. Wehrlein – +1 lap
9th. #35 Alpine Endurance (Alpine A424) – P. Chatin, F. Habsburg and C. Milesi – +2 laps
10th. #36 Alpine Endurance (Alpine A424) – M. Schumacher / F. Makowiecki / J. Gounon – +3 laps
