Toyota Gazoo Racing kept up the fight as the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours moved into its final stages at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa battled hard in their #8 GR010 HYBRID to challenge in the top six after 16 hours of racing, maintaining hopes of a strong result.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, were effectively in the top 10, although differing pit stop schedules meant they were classified 11th at the 16-hour mark.
The opening hours had seen the #8 move into the top six after starting 10th. From 16th on the grid, the #7 suffered damage in a first-lap clash but moved closer to the top 10 until a 50-second stop-go penalty – for pit lane speeding – dropped it down the field in the sixth hour.
Mike returned to the wheel of the 17th-placed #7 for a night stint in the seventh hour, and Sébastien did the same soon after from sixth. Positions and gaps evolved through different fuel and tyre strategies, as well as various penalties, but Sébastien drove the #8 forward thanks to his pace on soft tyres.
He was pressuring the fourth-placed #50 Ferrari late in the ninth hour before handing over to Brendon. By then, Kamui was at the wheel of the 16th-placed #7, and he overtook the #99 Porsche for 15th early in hour ten.
Ryo and Nyck returned to the cockpit early in the 11th hour, a few minutes before an LMP2 incident caused a safety car. As rivals pitted, the GR010 HYBRIDs moved up, and when the race resumed just before half distance, Ryo was second. Nyck remained 12th, but he now trailed the leader by only 40secs.
“The safety car was good for us because everything was reset almost to zero, and we were able to lead the race at a point. In terms of pace, we are not the fastest, but we are quick enough to fight at the front. We still need some luck to win, but so far, it’s going okay. There is a lot of racing still to come, so we will keep our focus.” said Hirakawa.
With everything to race for, both cars set their fastest laps of the race. Ryo moved into the lead around the next stops when the lead #6 Porsche changed tyres, while Nyck moved into the top 10. On old tyres, Ryo bravely defended from the faster #83 Ferrari but eventually dropped to second late in hour 13.
When Ryo changed tyres early in the 14th hour, his rivals did not, and the #8 dropped to fifth. Nyck was pushing hard and passed the #38 Cadillac for eighth before setting a new fastest lap of the race. Later in that hour, Sébastien took over the #8 in fifth, as Mike returned to the wheel of the #7 in eighth.
“It has been an eventful race so far for our car. We’re racing with a damaged car and after a very severe penalty for a clumsy mistake with the pit limiter. But my three stints were strong.” said De Vries
“We were a bit compromised after the safety car restart by the slower traffic, but it nevertheless gave us the chance to make up some positions. I was quite happy with the car and the pace. We will keep pushing because there is still a long way to go.”
Sébastien drove hard to stay in podium contention by holding off the #50 Ferrari into the 16th hour, although he eventually had to concede the position. At the very end of that hour, Sébastien handed the #8 to Brendon while Kamui took over from Mike.
Header Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing (Supplied)
