WEC-Imola: Toyota wins on Ferrari soil

WECHyperCar

Apr 21

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Both Toyota GR010-Hybrid started in P7 and P9 but a well executed strategy enabled #7 to win.

Toyota claimed an unexpected victory thanks to perfect strategy despite not being the fastest Hypercar in the race. It is the second race win in a row for Toyota at Imola.

The 6 Hours of Imola race went through various Twists and Turns. The major drama happened when rain started to fall after 4 hours racing which changed completely the shape of the race as the #7 Toyota pitted for wet tyres while all three Ferraris stayed out on slicks.

Four Hypercars out of contention at Tamburelo.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola.

At Tamburello Matthieu Vaxiviere (Alpine #36) caused a multi-car accident impacting sister car #35 (Charles Milesi), the #15 BMW M Team WRT Hypercar (Marco Witmann) and the #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar (Paul di Resta). All cars were severely delayed, most of all the #15 BMW which lost 32 laps after spending 65-minutes in the pits for repairs.

Ferrari tops 90% laps during the first four hours.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ferrari #51) got quickly ahead of Robert Kubica in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari.

The three Ferrari 499P did lead the race 124 laps out of the 138 covered during the first four hours with the #51 Ferrari 499P leading 86 laps and sister #50, 38 laps.

Porsche Penske and Toyota Gazoo Racing elected for a slightly shorter fuelled strategy enabling Vanthoor (Porsche #6) to gain P2 ahead of Conway in Toyota #7. The #51 Ferrari AF Corse was then in the lead after a quicker pit stop than sister cars with Kubica (AF Corse Ferrari #83) fourth and #50 Ferrari 499P sixth.

Strategy makes the difference when rain started

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Three Ferrari 499P pitting to change tires too late, hence losing any chance to win.

A bit after the four hours mark, Toyota #7 was the first to pit for rain tires while the three Ferrari 499P, then leading the race, stayed on slick for several laps. That is when Ferrari lost the race. We saw Pier Guidi and Fuoco heading to the strategist/engineers to require a pit stop to change tires but that was far too late!

Kobayashi keep the lead managing the stint energy allocation

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Until the very end, Porsche Team were hoping that Kobayashi would have to pit due to the stint energy allocation being used but it was without counting on Kobayashi mastering the energy consumption still keeping the lead.

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

Porsche consolidate manufacturers championship lead with P2 and P3.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Kevin Estre takes over from André Lotterer. Together with Vanthoor, they end second overall increasing their leadership in the drivers championship.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “Second and third place – what a great weekend for the team. We didn’t expect this result coming into the race. We almost even won. The race itself was crazy: with wet tyres on a drying track, and the first lap back on slicks, that was awful. I had a bit more fuel than the Toyota and was therefore able to close the gap, but overtaking wasn’t possible at that stage. The team worked hard to put a competitive car on the track for us and to maximise everything. In the dry, we lacked the pace compared to Ferrari and Toyota. But with the right strategy and a clever tyre choice, we did a better job than most of the others. In any case, we are in a much better position than last year!” Source: Porsche

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Matt Campbell at the wheel of Porsche 963 #5 while mechanics are still refuelling and Estre leaves his box.

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #5): “Given the mixed weather conditions, my stint in this race was really difficult. At times I struggled to keep the car on the track. Finding the right moment to change tyres was just as difficult. But the start of the season continues with good podium results for the team.” Source: Porsche

P4 for Ferrari #50

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. A. Fuoco, M. Molina and N. Nielsen may be disappointed ending fourth with their Ferrari 499P #50 whereas they had the fastest car but strategy was not right.

NICKLAS NIELSEN: « The race showed promise at the start, with a strong pace in the opening hours. However, the weather changed, and we could not finish the 6 Hours of Imola as we’d liked. At the end of the day, we can’t be entirely satisfied. We’ll aim to gather valuable insights from this race to improve our performance and return determined to do our best as of the next race at Spa. »

Toyota #8 fifth

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. The #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of B. Hartley, S. Buemi and R. Hirakawa ended fifth losing P4 in the last lap.

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “Massive congratulations to the team for taking a victory here on Ferrari’s home turf. They were clearly faster but car #7 played the right cards at the right moment and drove well to finish on top. It was a tougher day for us on car #8. We were very close to the podium places and I loved driving around here. In the final stint we had to save energy and we lost a position on the last lap which was frustrating. In the end it was not quite the result we wanted but it was an amazing team performance.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

BMW M Hybrid V8 meets target in sixth

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Strong race for Rene Rast, Sheldon van der L’Inde and R. Frijns taking the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 in P6 after reaching Hyperpole where Rast claimed seventh overall.

Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M Team WRT, #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, 6th place): “In the end, that was one of the most challenging and craziest stints I've ever driven. I thought several times that I would lose the car. I knew I had to bring it home so we could score very good points. Luckily, that worked out. The team did a great job improving the car so much since Qatar. We can be very proud of that. Thank you to everyone!” Source: BMW M Group

Final Hypercar classification