Sixth place for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s dreams in the 93^rd Le Mans 24 Hours were dashed in a gruelling contest at the Circuit de la Sarthe, where a determined team effort ended in a disappointing result on Sunday (15 June).

A sell-out race week crowd of 332,000 witnessed a spectacular grid of 21 Hypercars – representing eight manufacturers – do battle with Toyota Gazoo Racing aiming for their sixth win. 

On the 40^th anniversary of Toyota’s first Le Mans participation, the team took the fight to their 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 sixth in the No7 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 them more than 20 minutes and dropped the No8 GR010 Hybrid out of contention. They eventually finished 16^th.

The race started both GR010 Hybrids gaining positions during the opening hours. While the No8 crew fought their way into the top six, the No7 suffered bodywork damage on the first lap and later incurred a 50-second stop-go penalty for pit lane speeding.

The No8 battled into podium contention thanks to strong pace on soft tyres through the night, before a safety car at half distance created new opportunities by compressing the field. The No8 took the lead as lap 200 approached and the No7 – 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 No8 in the top six and in a close fight with a Ferrari and a Porsche for an even higher finish. The No7 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 No8 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 quickly to replace the front left assembly. Hirakawa resumed in 19^th, having lost seven laps. 

The No7 never stopped pushing and Kobayashi’s pace during the final hours brought the No12 Cadillac – which at one stage had been a minute ahead – into range, until a late drive through penalty ended that charge.

Kobayashi took the flag in sixth after completing 386 laps while the No8 crew finished 16th, seven laps behind the winner.
 
Toyota Gazoo Racing has only four weeks until they return to racing and renew their bid for a first victory of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. The 6 Hours of São Paulo takes place at Interlagos on 13 July.

Team quotes

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car No7): “First of all I want to share my huge appreciation to everyone – fans, partners and Toyota colleagues – who supported us on our Le Mans journey this year and who gave us this opportunity to challenge here again. We knew it would be a tough race, and it was indeed very tough. We tried to take every opportunity to get the win, but we couldn’t make it happen this time. Now we have lost to Ferrari three times in a row which is not acceptable to me. We will come back to Le Mans stronger next year and with a different mindset.”  

Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “Sixth is definitely not where we wanted to be, but from where we started, I think that was all we had. We managed to fight our way up from 16^th on the grid and that was due to a big effort from the whole team, so thanks to everyone for that. A 24-hour race is always hard but it’s even harder when you come away wishing you got a better result. We didn’t have enough performance to win but as always, the team pushed to the end. It just wasn’t to be this year; we have to come back stronger.”

Nyck de Vries (driver, car No7): “I guess there is only one result that can make you happy at Le Mans and that’s the victory because that is what this race is all about. We tried really hard, but it just wasn’t enough because we didn’t have the speed. It was a fully clear, dry race, with only one safety car, so we needed pace to fight at the front, and unfortunately, we just didn’t have what was required. That’s racing. We gave it all, we tried everything, and I have no regrets.” 

Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “It is clearly a disappointing race for us. We were hoping for a much better result, but we were never really in the fight for the win. We were consistent and we didn’t get any penalties which kept us in the fight until we had the technical issue. That basically took us out of the race, otherwise I think we were likely to finish fifth. We need to regroup, analyse what happened and see what we can improve for next year.”

Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “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. 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.”

Ryo Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “It was definitely a tough race and a tough 24 hours, but we fought together until the end. The issue we suffered was unfortunate and it was a bitter pill to swallow. The only thing we can do now is move forward, stay positive and prepare in the best way for the next race in São Paulo. Thanks to everyone in the team, our sponsors, partners and colleagues at Toyota. Our preparations for Le Mans 2026 start now and we will keep pushing together.”

ENDS

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