Toyota (NYSE:) Metropolis, Japan, Jun 17, 2024 – (JCN Newswire) – – TOYOTA GAZOO Racing fell narrowly in need of an unforgettable Le Mans 24 Hours victory after an epic battle in altering situations delivered a hard-earned podium within the 92nd version of the legendary occasion, the fourth spherical of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The World Champions overcame adversity to combat for honours, recovering from a troublesome qualifying to fulfill the problem of an ultra-competitive 23-car Hypercar area in excessive climate because of driver ability, environment friendly pit stops, sensible technique and a powerful workforce spirit.
Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries bravely challenged for victory of their #7 GR010 HYBRID heading into the closing phases however missed out on finishing a exceptional comeback drive. They completed second by simply 14.221secs after 311 dramatic laps, regardless of ranging from twenty third.
Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa led the race for big phases however had been denied an opportunity at victory when their #8 GR010 HYBRID was pushed right into a spin with two hours remaining. The reigning World Champions completed fifth after a gallant effort.
In entrance of over 300,000 followers, the 2 GR010 HYBRIDs began on the flawed finish of the Hypercar grid however confirmed their preventing spirit by transferring by the sphere regardless of the altering climate.
Undeterred by rain showers within the second and sixth hours, the #8 automobile pressured its means into the battle for podium positions with the #7 pushing for the highest six early within the race. The complexion of the race modified halfway by hour seven when a security automobile introduced the main Hypercars collectively on the entrance.
The race was neutralised for greater than an hour as evening – and extra rain – fell on La Sarthe. When it resumed, the drivers known as on all their expertise to beat the situations and information the GR010 HYBRIDs to the entrance.
The #8 led the race from the ninth to the 18th hour following Ryo’s robust efficiency within the rain, dropping down the order solely on account of differing pit cease methods, whereas the #7 held third. That interval included greater than 4 hours of steady security automobile intervention because of heavy rain round half distance.
An in depth battle between Cadillac, Ferrari (NYSE:), Porsche and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing noticed the momentum ebb and circulate relying on site visitors, sluggish zone timings and race incidents. After a Nineteenth-hour security automobile, the highest seven had been coated by simply 4 seconds because the motion intensified.
Remarkably, the battle on the entrance obtained much more intense within the ultimate phases. Flying laps from Brendon introduced the #8 into the lead #50 Ferrari when extra rain hit. That cost continued on moist tyres however the #8 automobile’s probabilities suffered a merciless blow with two hours to go when Brendon was pushed right into a spin by the #51 Ferrari, dropping to sixth.
The workforce’s victory hopes subsequently rested with the #7 and Jose, whose blistering tempo had already recovered substantial time following two earlier punctures. He stored up the stress and overtook the #51 Ferrari for second earlier than transferring into the lead contained in the final two hours.
However the #7 nonetheless wanted a gas cease and Jose began the final half-hour with a 40-second deficit. Initially he closed the hole, however with laps working out, the duty proved insurmountable. Jose introduced the #7 house in second behind the successful #50 Ferrari, and Sebastien took the flag moments later in fifth.
Akio Toyoda (Crew Founder):
“This 12 months at Le Mans, issues occurred earlier than the race even began after which lengthy after the beginning. However I by no means as soon as felt uneasy as a result of it’s Kamui’s workforce. I really believed within the workforce that Kamui has constructed. Everybody on the workforce fought an excessive battle till the very finish of the 24 hours.
It was an incredible race, however the outcome was actually irritating! I informed everybody earlier than the race that we’ve got the very best mechanics, the very best engineers, and the very best drivers on this planet, and I hope that we will flip their frustration into energy and as soon as once more develop into a workforce that may be known as the very best on this planet! So let’s flip this frustration into energy, and let’s make this workforce what the remainder of the world calls it once more!”
P.S.
“I’m glad Jose was there! Thank you! Keep up the good work with Lexus. Mike, I’m waiting for you to come back. I prefer you when you are on four wheels. And Kamui, let’s try to finish the qualifying session! Finally, to the mechanics of the #7 car, thank you very much for all your hard work during the race week. I want to thank you all for your strong efforts during the race week, which was full of long days. I love the #7 car, which is full of mischievous drivers. I know it’s a lot of work, but please continue to take good care of car #7. Now please take a good rest!”
P.P.S.
” It was a really great 24-hour race between athletes. Congratulations to everyone at Ferrari! Thank you also to Porsche and Cadillac who really fought until the very end.”
Kamui Kobayashi (Crew Principal and driver, automobile #7):
“Obviously it was a very tough race for us. We could have won but we had a few issues. It was not a smooth 24 hours for the #7 car, but the whole team did such a great job throughout a very tough week. It was a phenomenal race through 24 hours, with every manufacturer fighting non-stop. Everyone wants to win this race and we were very close. Such a close finish makes us hungry to come back stronger next year and we will do our best to achieve that. Thank you for all the support and hard work from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in Japan and Germany. Thank you once again to Morizo san as well. He has supported us a lot since we found out about Mike’s injury and all through the week. We fight together with Morizo san as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and we will get strong next year.”
Jose Maria Lopez (Driver, automobile #7):
“I would like to thank everyone in the team in Japan and Cologne for their hard work and the trust they showed to give me this chance. Thanks to Kamui and Nyck, who did an amazing job, as did the mechanics and engineers. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me, starting from 10 days ago when Mike got injured and I took his place. I was happy be here but also sad for him. Then the race was simply the hardest one I ever experienced, with the weather, having to start from last and losing time with slow zones, punctures and other issues. We always managed to come back, and we showed our strong spirit. I am proud of everyone for that. It is an emotional day for me because I don’t know when I might have another chance to compete for the win overall.”
Nyck de Vries (Driver, automobile #7):
“First of all, I would like to thank Kamui, Jose and the whole team for their endless work and great efforts through this extremely tough Le Mans 24 Hours. It was an incredible race, with such close competition in such difficult conditions. It feels like we were so close yet so far to achieving our target. Nevertheless, it was a strong performance from the whole team, and we finished on the podium, which is a special moment for my first Le Mans with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.”
Sebastien Buemi (Driver, automobile #8):
“I am a bit disappointed to finish fifth to be honest. We were leading the race for a long time and without the incident late on I think we could have won. We had strong pace and didn’t make any mistakes so it’s frustrating how it turned out. The team did a great job, Brendon and Ryo drove really well and the engineers made the right strategy calls, so I think we performed well. Now we just have to work hard for the next race in Brazil.”
Brendon Hartley (Driver, automobile #8):
“For the fans it was a beautiful race, but it was heartbreaking for us at the end. We were in a position to win for quite a lot of the race. We lost some ground in one of the safety car periods but fought back to second, challenging for the lead before I got pushed off. That basically put us out of the fight for the win in the last couple of hours. It feels like the victory just slipped away from us. I am happy for the team that we got one car on the podium after all the hard work from everyone to get the result here. We just fell a bit short, and it is going to take a few days to get over the emotions.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, automobile #8):
“I don’t know what to say. We fought together and we did everything we could do in such difficult conditions. We worked so hard all week and we really wanted to avenge last year’s defeat. We had a chance, but we didn’t quite have enough luck. It’s disappointing, especially because we were at the front for so long and we really pushed hard. We need to stay strong, switch focus to the rest of the season and try to bounce back. We will come back stronger.”
Le Mans 24 Hours – End result
1st #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) 311 laps
2nd #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +14.221secs
third #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +36.730secs
4th #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +37.897secs
fifth #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1min 2.824secs
sixth #5 Porsche Penske (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki) +1mins 45.654secs
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