Only two drivers - Kamui Kobayashi and Nick De Vries - are currently third in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship, as Mike Conway did not participate to the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to an injury. The duo count a win at Imola with Conway and a P2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jose Maria Lopez (replacing Conway) which put them only 3 points behind the #50 Ferrari trio but 22 points behind the leading Porsche #6 drivers.

Victory at Imola

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries took a tense victory in the #7 GR010 HYBRID in changing conditions thanks to faultless driving and intelligent strategy on a day of twists and turns among the 19-strong Hypercar field.

Victorious Toyota GR010 HYBRID with Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at 6 Hours of Imola. Victorious Toyota GR010 HYBRID with **Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries**.

Having started sixth, Mike Conway showed his fighting spirit in the opening laps when he made a move for fifth. The team used smart strategy and pace around their perfectly-executed pit stops to gain positions. Conway moved into the top three before handing the #7 to Nick de Vries at the first driver changes, around the two-hour mark.
de Vries did put intense pressure on the leading Ferrari pair before rain and different strategies in the fourth hour threw the race wide open. Nyck de Vries made an opportunistic move to take second immediately following a full course yellow and moments later took the lead when the #51 Ferrari pitted, just prior to safety car.
Rain intensified during the safety car period, particularly in the final sector. When the green flags waved, the GR010 HYBRIDs struggled for grip on the wet track and immediately pitted for wet tyres. It proved to be a masterstroke and both cars soon lapped significantly faster than their Hypercar rivals.
After most Hypercars also pitted for wet tyres, Kamui Kobayashi emerged into a lead of more than 20 seconds as the race entered its final 90 minutes.With less fuel on board than their rivals, Kamui Koabayashi had to drive efficiently going into the final 30 minutes, setting up a tense showdown for victory.
Kamui Kobayashi fought valiantly to hold on to the lead under intense pressure to win in Italy for the second successive season, by 7.081secs from the #6 Porsche.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It was a very tough race and to win here is absolutely phenomenal. Our car was not the fastest this week but the team performed so well. Mike and Nyck both did a fantastic job to bring the car into contention before I took over. There was big pressure from the start of my stint; I was in the lead on slick tyres in the rain. We made the right call to switch tyres and build a gap, then we kept good pace on the wet tyres. We were not sure about fuel so we started to save energy and I gave everything, it was very tough. The team did a great effort in terms of strategy and that gave us the chance to fight for the win. Thanks to the everyone for their fantastic work here.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It was really tense all the way to the end. Kamui did a great job at the end to stay ahead whilst saving energy. As always the pressure doesn’t affect him; I think my heart rate in the garage was higher than his in the car. Nyck did a stellar stint as well. At the start I stayed out of trouble and tried to move forwards. I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed my first time racing here. The crew did a great job in the pits and the strategy couldn’t have been any better. Congratulations to the whole team and everyone at Toyota.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It’s great to be back on the top step of the podium; it’s been a while for me. It’s nice to share that with my team-mates. I am very happy and proud to share the car with Kamui and Mike, so I really want to thank them and the whole team for their outstanding job. The performance was phenomenal, all the strategy calls were correct, every stint was strong, and no one put a foot wrong. They executed the race perfectly and I think we really deserve this victory.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

P2 at Le Mans

📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans. P2 for José María López, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries at Le Mans.

José María López, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries bravely challenged for victory in their #7 GR010 HYBRID heading into the closing stages but missed out on completing a remarkable comeback drive. They finished second by just 14.221secs after 311 dramatic laps, despite starting from 23rd.

The #7 trio was pushing for the top six early in the race. The complexion of the race changed midway through hour seven when a safety car brought the leading Hypercars together at the front. After a more than four hours of continuous safety car intervention due to heavy rain, the top seven were covered by just four seconds as the action intensified. José Maria Lopez, whose blistering pace had already recovered substantial time following two earlier punctures, kept up the pressure and overtook the #51 Ferrari for second before moving into the lead inside the last two hours.

But the #7 still needed a fuel stop and “Pechito” Lopez started the last 30 minutes with a 40-second deficit. Initially he closed the gap, but with laps running out, the task proved insurmountable. Lopez brought the #7 home in second behind the winning #50 Ferrari

José María López (Driver, car #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.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Pole and P4 at Interlagos

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in the pole position-winning #7 GR010 HYBRID, were on course for victory until a long pit stop for a technical issue dropped them down the field. However, a stunning fight back delivered fourth place and 12 valuable World Championship points.

The #7 was still comfortably in control at the 90-minute mark but suffered its first blow when a drive-through penalty for a full course yellow infringement wiped out Mike Conway’s advantage. A more significant issue came early in the third hour when repairs were needed on a control unit and Nyck de Vries resumed in 18th.

📷 © Courtesy of Toyota Gazoo Racing. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, delivered fourth place with #7 GR010 HYBRID at Interlagos.

Nyck de Vries’s battling performance brought the #7 back into the fight for points and Kamui Kobayashi took the wheel for the final two stints.
The #7’s determined fight back continued until the flag and Kamui Kobayashi hunted down the #51 Ferrari in the closing laps, forcing his way past with a breathtaking overtake for fourth place inside the last five minutes.

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “We had such a strong car all day. I made a mistake with the FCY, just over-speeding slightly, but we managed to get back into the lead anyway. We had really good tyre wear at that point and thought we were looking good. But at the end of my stint, we started to notice the issue. The team tried to fix it and we lost time, so we went all the way to the back. Kamui and Nyck drove well to get us back up to fourth. We couldn’t do any better in terms of a recovery, but we still feel like this one got away from us.”Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

P6 at 1812 Qatar

The #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries maximised the car’s potential and scored significant World Championship points for a hard-earned sixth place.

Mike Conway started on the front row but suffered oversteer going into turn one, forcing him wide and dropping the #7 down to seventh. Nyck De Vries, who took over from Conway, moved the #7 into the top six and he handed over to Kamui Kobayashi after almost four hours.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail. Hard-earned sixth place for #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries at 1812 Qatar.

As the race moved into the last five hours, the starting drivers were back behind the wheel, with Mike Conway fighting for sixth place. With just over two hours remaining, a final driver change saw Nyck De Vries resume the battle under lights in the Qatari night.
As the clock counted down, the various fuel strategies played out and Nyck was in seventh entering the final lap. That became sixth when he passed the stricken #93 Peugeot in the final metres of the race.

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “After 10 hours of battling, it was a hard-fought result. We were lacking pace compared to the leading cars, so we have to be happy with sixth, although we definitely needed a little bit of luck to finish there because on merit the top six was probably just out of reach. We have scored good points and I think that was the best we could do today. We had to maximise the weekend and we did that.”Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing.

P7 at Spa.

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries followed up their win at Imola with seventh place in their #7 GR010 HYBRID.

Mike Conway made progress from 14th to 12th and tried to break into the top 10. The #7 GR010 HYBRID took fuel only at the first pit stops, helping Conway move up to eighth, and he fought to defend that position under pressure from rivals on fresh tyres, before slipping to 10th. After a long safety car period, Nyck de Vries resumed in ninth. The gap to the leading pack was reduced but that time gain was lost for the #7 when it dropped to 15th following a drive-through penalty for a virtual safety car infringement.

Seventh place for Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in their #7 GR010 HYBRID. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. Seventh place for **Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries** in their #7 GR010 HYBRID.

Nyck de Vries did make up positions going into the second half of the race and joined of a four-car fight for seventh late in the fourth hour. As the battle wore on, de Vries overtook sister car for fifth, just seconds before the crash between the #2 Cadillac and #31 BMW M4 GT3 causing a red flag.

Racing resumed with one hour 44 minutes remaining and Kamui Kobayashi briefly ran third after the next round of fuel stops, before losing out to the #50 Ferrari. Going into the last hour, Kobayashi did put pressure on the podium positions from fourth. During the last half hour, Kobayashi was unable to hang on to fourth as the #51 Ferrari and #99 Porsche made the most of a performance advantage to get past. Kobayashi was then handed a five-second penalty for contact with a lapped LMGT3 car. That meant, when he crossed the line less than two seconds ahead of sister car, the #8 GR010 HYBRID was classified sixth, and the #7 seventh.

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It was a bit of a messy race on our car with the penalties. It would have been nice to score more points but in the end, we knew Ferrari and Porsche would be quicker than us. We were struggling with the tyres and couldn’t match that pace. As the track evolved, our pace improved but we were still not quite there. We’ve got to keep pushing for Le Mans.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Three races until the end of season

The next round of the World Endurance Championship will occur at Austin for the Lone Star Le Mans race September 1st. The WEC circus will then fly to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 15th. Both races enables to score 25 points for the race win and 1 point for the pole in Hyperpole. Season ends at Bahrain for an 8 hours race November 2nd (a 38 points race for the winners).