Toyota Gazoo Racing secure Sebring one-two

Toyota Gazoo Racing dominated the opening round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on Friday (17 March),  earning a one-two victory in the 1000 Miles of Sebring in the face of strong Hypercar competition.

The GR010 Hybrid No7 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López bounced back from a practice accident to take victory after a hard-fought 239 laps at the United States’ home of endurance racing.

After a tense race-long battle at the front, World Champions and 2022 Le Mans winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa completed a perfect result for Toyota Gazoo Racing by finishing second in the No8 GR010 Hybrid, just 2.168secs behind.

Relentless consistency, flawless team operations and strong tyre management combined as Toyota Gazoo Racing overcame the challenge of new Hypercar rivals from Cadillac, Ferrari and Porsche to lap all competitors twice and earn the team’s 40^th WEC victory.

Despite missing pole position on Thursday, the team were immediately in the fight at the front when the green flags waved in midday Florida sunshine. Buemi kept pressure on the pole-sitting No50 Ferrari through the opening laps, while Conway held off a challenge to his third position.

An early safety car, due to a fifth-lap accident for a GT car, put the battle on hold for 25 minutes. During that interruption, the lead Ferrari pitted for fuel, moving the GR010 Hybrids to the front and defining the pattern of the race. Buemi set a new Hypercar race lap record as he and Conway edged clear of the competition.

At the two-hour mark, little separated the GR010 Hybrids, while their gap over the chasing pack was enough to keep them ahead through the first driver changes. Kobayashi took the wheel of the No7 and two laps later Hartley jumped into the race-leading No8, although he immediately came under pressure from the sister car.

As half distance approached, Kobayashi moved the No7 to the front and soon after, early in the fifth hour, he handed over to López. Hirakawa took the wheel of the second-placed No8 to resume an intra-team battle for victory, with the pair now a lap clear of the competition.

After Kobayashi and Buemi returned to their respective cockpits, the gap at the front began to grow during the seventh hour. When Conway took the wheel of the No7 with 47 minutes remaining, he held a 23sec advantage over Hartley at the start of the final stint.

As the sun set on Sebring, Conway ticked off the remaining laps without taking risks and Hartley steadily reduced the gap. The chequered flag flew in darkness and Conway crossed the line 2.168 seconds ahead of the No8 to conquer the largest top-class grid yet for a WEC season-opener and earn maximum race points.

Hypercar battle resumes in Portugal in a month’s time with the 6 Hours of Portimao on 16 April, the second of seven races this season.

Team quotes
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car No7): “It is a fantastic feeling to win this race and I would like to thank everyone for their big support, particularly everyone back in Japan, including Toyoda-San and President Sato-San. The Toyota Gazoo Racing family has worked really hard to be ready for this season. We had a tough time yesterday, but we came back strongly and in the race we showed our philosophy to be one team, with everyone working very hard together. A one-two was the best result we could hope for, but this is just the start of a big fight this season. We deserved to win but we do not underestimate the other manufacturers; today our experience helped us but we will face a big challenge this season, so we have to get stronger and fight even harder. This championship is really exciting, and I am happy to be part of it.”

Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “It’s a fantastic result to start the season with a one-two for the team. The race was very tight between our two cars so I’m really happy to pick up the win. Sebring is a very tricky, bumpy track where it is so easy to make a mistake, but everyone on car No7 did everything right. Kamui and José did a stellar job. It was emotional for me at the end because I was thinking about my Dad, who passed away a year ago. This one was for him.”

José María López (driver, car No7): “I am very happy for the team; everyone performed so well today to get a one-two against so much competition. Even though we didn’t have the best qualifying, we knew we had a strong car for the race and our crew did everything right. It wasn’t easy to jump back in the car for the first time since the incident yesterday and it took a few laps to get my confidence back. But I am happy with my stint, and of course Mike and Kamui did a solid job as well. It was a perfect race and the best way to start the season.”

Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “I am obviously very pleased for the team to start the season with a one-two and such a strong performance. Every driver wants to win but there are two cars in the team and there can be only one winner; the No7 guys had a great race today. The whole team has performed amazingly well all week to put us in such a strong position compared to the opposition. This is just the first step in what will be a tough season but I am really happy to get the one-two here.”

Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “It’s an amazing result for the whole team and I am incredibly happy for everyone who has worked so hard for this. I’m also a bit disappointed for the No8 car to be second because it was such a close race, and we led for so much of it. We got a bit unlucky but congratulations to the No7 crew for the win. At the end there was only two seconds between the two cars after such a hard race which shows what a great job the team has done here.”

Ryo Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “This has been a perfect race for the team, a one-two finish at the beginning of a new season is the perfect start to a new era of Hypercar. It’s really cool to get this result here at Sebring but it is just the start of the season and there are six more races to go, including Le Mans which is the main target. We are in good shape, but our competitors will continue to improve so we need to keep pushing. It is fun to be part of this challenge and I am looking forward to the next race already.”

Akio Toyoda Team Founder, Toyota Gazoo Racing.

A new season has started with new rivals.

I would like to say “congratulations” and “thank you” to all the drivers and team members who finished this important first round with a one-two finish.

I am particularly happy that car No7 won the race and got off to a good start after they had so many frustrations last season. But that is not the only reason.

Car No7 had some struggles as well during this race week.

When they started running, they fought to improve their lap times.  The drivers and mechanics worked together to pinpoint the issues and make improvements.

And when everything was going well, at the end of practice on Thursday, José had an accident…

The mechanics desperately repaired the car. The other drivers continued to talk compassionately with José so that he could regain his confidence and drive strongly in the race.

Even if the car changes and the number of rivals increases, I once again feel that racing is a team effort. Since Kamui became Team Principal, the power of the team has definitely grown stronger.

As a driver, Kamui contributes to victory as a driver, and as Team Principal he keeps communication with the members and keeps the team together. So I would like to thank Kamui for both his roles.  Kamui, thank you very much.

I think our rivals will continue to refine their cars and become faster. Let’s keep fighting to make the GR010 HYBRID an “ever-better car”!

ENDS