Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Le Mans preparations move up a gear at Spa-Francorchamps
Toyota Gazoo Racing take on the challenge of one of the world’s most spectacular circuits when the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) moves to Belgium for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round three of the series, on Saturday (10 May).
This is the final race before the Le Mans 24 Hours on 14-15 June and therefore an important step in the team’s preparations to fight for a sixth win at La Sarthe.
After a hard-fought double points finish in round two at Imola last month, the team aim to kick-start their World Championship challenge at a circuit where they have excelled in the recent past. In their 12 WEC races there, they have won eight times, including a record-breaking winning streak from 2017 to 2023.
So far in 2025, Toyota Gazoo Racing have yet to score a podium finish, but they have overcome challenging circumstances with a mixture of smart strategy, determined driving and strong teamwork to score consistent points in Qatar and Imola. They are currently third in the manufacturers’ World Championship, 39 points behind leaders Ferrari.
Spa-Francorchamps is one of two home WEC races for the team, together with Fuji Speedway in Japan, being close to their base in Cologne, Germany. A large contingent of employees will make the 75-mile journey to cheer on the GR010 Hybrids when they take on an 18-strong Hypercar field featuring Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot and Porsche.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s preparations for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans stepped up a gear in April when the team conducted a two-day test at the flowing high-speed circuit, almost half of which has been resurfaced since last year’s race.
Practice begins on Thursday with two 90-minute sessions, prior to qualifying the following day. The race begins at 2pm local time (1pm BST) on Saturday.
Team quotes
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car No7): “Spa is always a big race because it is the last event before Le Mans. It’s an important moment in our preparations, the last chance to fine-tune our processes, learn more about the car and build an even closer team feeling in a race situation. Spa is a fantastic circuit, with great history and usually a big crowd, so it’s a race all drivers want to win. I really enjoy driving there and I always look forward to this race, although the weather can be a question mark. We need to be ready for anything, which adds another challenge to the weekend. The competition will be tough as usual and as a team, we’re ready for a close fight.”
Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “Spa is definitely one of my favourite tracks and it normally throws something at you, often with weather. That’s the charm of the place; you never know what you’re going to get. It’s also a special event for us because it’s one of our home races with the factory only an hour down the road. It’s great to have our colleagues joining us because they don’t have many opportunities during the season. I hope they get to enjoy an exciting race.”
Nyck de Vries (driver, car No7): “We feel a bit disappointed with the result at Imola because we were on course potentially for a podium and it slipped away, so we are looking forward to getting back in action again at Spa. It’s always cool to be there, with a lot of local fans and plenty of colleagues who will travel there to support us. Le Mans is approaching very rapidly and Spa is another important milestone in our preparations.”
Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “It’s the final race before Le Mans so we will try our best to go into the big race with a strong result. The track been resurfaced since our last race at Spa, but we tested there, so we have good data to analyse and will be well prepared. At Imola and Qatar we showed how hard we are fighting. We didn’t have the pace to fight for the win, but we were not far behind. We have a strong team and a strong car so I hope with all the small improvements we will make, we can compete for victory.”
Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “Spa is always a special place to race; it’s fast, flowing, and unpredictable. The weather can change in a heartbeat, which adds to the challenge, but that’s what makes it exciting. As a team, we’re focused on executing our weekend cleanly and building momentum heading into Le Mans. The goal is to fight at the front and collect as many points as possible.”
Ryo Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “We have had two tough races, but I feel that as a team we have worked strongly together and maximised our results from Qatar and Imola. When we don’t have the performance to fight at the front, it’s important to score solid points, because it’s a long season and our target is still to win the World Championship. There hasn’t been much time since the last race but I know the team are working flat-out so we will come back stronger at Spa.”
ENDS
