Toyota going to Spa for an eighth consecutive win

WECHyperCar

May 7

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to continue its winning form and extend a record-breaking run of victories at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps when the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) visits Belgium for round three on Saturday 11 May.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa 2023. Both Toyota GR010 Hybrid did relegate the competition to more than a minute achieving the double with M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI / J. LOPEZ in #7 winning 11.637 seconds ahead of S. BUEMI / B. HARTLEY / R. HIRAKAWA in #8.

The team’s sequence of seven consecutive Spa wins is unprecedented in top-level endurance racing at the legendary Belgian track, which hosted its first 1,000km race – the predecessor to the modern six-hour WEC contests – in 1966. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has won eight of its 11 races there and is unbeaten since 2017.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 2021. First race for the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, first win for S. BUEMI / K. NAKAJIMA / B. HARTLEY with #8.

Mike and Kamui can challenge for a hat-trick of wins in Belgium, having triumphed in the last two editions of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Sébastien has previously won the race five times, including alongside Brendon in 2021, while Ryo and Nyck are both challenging for their first Spa WEC win.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Monza 2024. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in their #7 GR010 HYBRID won the last 6 Hours of Monza.

A thrilling 6 Hours of Imola last month saw Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in their #7 GR010 HYBRID, overcome the elements to earn the team’s first victory of the season, complimented by a fifth place for Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 GR010 HYBRID. Strong teamwork, skilful driving and smart strategy combined for a rewarding race, despite the tough Hypercar competition. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is determined to maintain that momentum and write another page of WEC history at Spa.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 2021. First race for the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, P3 for M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI / J. LOPEZ with #7.

Spa is a firm favourite among drivers and fans for its undulating, high-speed sections through the Ardennes forest. At 7.004km it is the second longest circuit in WEC after Le Mans, and arguably the most spectacular thanks to legendary corners such as the Eau Rouge-Raidillon sequence, Pouhon and Blanchimont.
As the last race before the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15-16 June, Spa is a milestone in the team’s preparation for the WEC season highlight because the flowing high-speed track is an important opportunity to fine-tune the GR010 HYBRIDs on a lay-out which requires similar performance attributes to the Circuit de la Sarthe.

For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Spa holds extra significance as one of its two home races, alongside Fuji Speedway. The team’s technical centre is located 120km away in Cologne and all employees have been invited to show their support on race day, along with colleagues from Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels, Toyota’s European headquarters. Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 2022. First of last two consecutive wins for the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI / J. LOPEZ.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “This is a very important race, not just for our World Championship challenge, but also for our Le Mans preparations. To be quick at Le Mans and Spa, you need some of the same characteristics in terms of car balance and set-up, so everything we learn next week will help us in June. Spa is also a highlight of our WEC season because it’s our second home race, after Fuji Speedway. We always appreciate that our team members from Cologne come along to encourage us, and this year we have even more support because we also welcome colleagues from Toyota’s European headquarters to Spa. As well as our colleagues, we’re looking forward to the support of the fans, who will generate a fantastic atmosphere as usual. Even though we didn’t have the fastest car at Imola, we executed a perfect race and managed to win, and we will work hard for a similar performance at Spa.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa 2023. Mike Conway on board of 2023 6 Hours of Spa winning Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7. Together with Kamui Kobayashi they will challenge for a hat-trick of wins in Belgium, having triumphed in the last two editions of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “It was fantastic to win for the first time this season at Imola, and the result showed how important it is to work strongly as a team, avoid mistakes and maximise every aspect of our performance. Spa will be another challenging weekend because the competition in Hypercar is so intense, but we’re looking forward to it. We had experience of driving on wet tyres at Imola and we all know that the weather in Spa is unpredictable. Hopefully it’s a dry weekend but if not, we are prepared, and we’ve shown that we can use those situations to our advantage.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “After the outstanding team performance and result at Imola, we are all very much looking forward to the race at Spa. It’s one of the best circuits in the world and it’s always a highlight of the season, also because the fans create a special atmosphere. We are all very motivated to build on the win at Imola and deliver another positive result in one of our home races, especially because so many colleagues from the factory will be there to support us.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa 2017. First of five wins at Spa for Sebastien Buemi together with Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima with #8 Toyota TS050 - Hybrid in 2017.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “Spa is my favourite circuit because it is such a special place, with all the history, as well as being a challenging, traditional-style track with fast corners, not much run-off or room for errors. You never get bored of driving there, particularly in a prototype, and I’ve been fortunate enough to win there five times before, so I have great memories. The competition will be more intense than ever, so it will not be easy, but we need to get the most from our car and from the opportunities which come our way.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Sheldon van der Linde taking over from Robin Frijns in #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8.

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “I always look forward to driving at Spa. It’s a place I really enjoy because it’s an old-school track, with lots of changes of elevation, some high-speed sections, plus it’s very scenic and spectacular driving through the forest. The weather is often a factor too which can make for some unpredictable races. At Imola, our car was in the fight for a podium but we didn’t quite make it, so this is clearly the target in Spa when we hope to prepare ourselves for Le Mans with a strong result.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “Spa is such a fun track to drive so I really look forward to this race. As a team, we’ve had some great results there over the years and we obviously hope to be strong again. It will be tough because we saw at Imola how strong some of our competitors are, but I think we are making progress. The win for car #7 was great for the whole team, and it was also encouraging to see our car #8 fighting for the podium too. We want to be stronger again in Spa and everyone in the team is working flat-out to achieve that.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Track activities begin on Thursday 9 May with two 90-minute free practice sessions before the starting grid is determined in qualifying, which begins at 3.30pm CEST on Friday. The green flags wave for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race at 1pm on Saturday 11 May.

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