TOYOTA GR010 HYBRID
An early spin caused a big drop in position
The Toyota GR010 Hybrid car number 8 started from pole position, but made contact with an LMGT3 class vehicle early in the race, causing it to drop significantly down the rankings.
At 2:00 PM local time on November 2nd, under the strong desert sun, the eight-hour WEC final race got underway. Buemi took the lead in the pole-positioned #8 GR010 Hybrid, completing the first lap without any major incidents. However, just 18 minutes after the start, he was hit from behind by an LMGT3 class car, causing him to spin and drop to seventh place. Nevertheless, Buemi recovered, and two hours after the start he handed over to Hartley in fifth place.
Hartley took over for the second stint, and Hirakawa took over for the third stint, struggling with tire wear but still managing to stay in the top six. They continued to fight for the lead in the long eight-hour race. As the race passed the halfway point, two safety car periods narrowed the gap between the cars, and the battle between the 18 hypercars was reset.
When the safety car left with an hour and a half remaining and the race restarted, Buemi, driving his final stint, was running in 10th place, just 15 seconds behind the leader. From there, Buemi launched a fierce charge in his quest for a chance at the world championship. He overtook one rival after another on track, and, aided by a brilliant pit strategy, climbed to second place after his final pit stop.
Buemi shows off his fierce drive
Buemi, who drove the first and final stints, made a series of overtakes from 10th place, eventually catching the No. 5 Porsche 963 and taking a stunning first place finish.
Buemi caught up with the leading Porsche 963 #5 (Matt Campbell, Mikael Kristensen, Frederic Makowiecki) and took the lead with less than 30 minutes remaining. He continued to lap at a high pace and took the checkered flag in first place with a huge lead of 29.177 seconds over second place. This was the #8 car’s second win of the season, following the fifth race, the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo.
As a result, Toyota won the Manufacturers’ Championship title by just two points over rival Porsche. Hirakawa expressed his joy after the race:
“What a day! It was a truly eventful race, but we never gave up until the very end and continued to fight as a team. We started from pole position, but we were hit by an accident, including being hit from behind by a GT3 car. But we continued to fight with all our might, and in the end Seb (Buemi) put in a fantastic drive to overcome the adversity.”
“We’ve had a lot of difficult races this season with the No. 8 car, so I’m happy that we were finally able to pull off some good fortune at the end. It’s also great that we were able to end the season with a win, and I’m really grateful to not only my team, but also Toyota and all our partners.”
Car No. 7 suffers from fuel pump trouble
Car No. 7 was battling for the lead until the middle of the race, but a fuel pump problem caused it to slow down and it was forced to retire.
Starting from second place in qualifying, the GR010 Hybrid #7 (Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, Nyck de Vries) fought for the top spots until the middle of the race. Conway, who started, finished the first lap in fourth place, then regained third place and handed the car over to Kobayashi. Kobayashi performed a dramatic overtake in the poor visibility after sunset, moving up to second place.
However, car No. 7 suffered a problem with the fuel pump and slowed down. Thanks to the team’s efforts, Kobayashi’s pace recovered and he rose to the lead after a quick pit stop when de Vries took over. However, car No. 7 slowed down again and had to enter the garage for repairs with less than two hours remaining.
As it was expected that it would take a long time to resolve the problem, the team decided to prioritize winning the Manufacturers’ Championship and the victory of Car No. 8, which was necessary to achieve that, and decided to retire Car No. 7. The crew of Car No. 7 also supported Car No. 8, and the team achieved its sixth consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship. Conway, who was disappointed to have to retire, reflected on the race as follows:
“It was a tough result for us in Car 7. We were strong today and looked like we had a chance of winning. However, we encountered some trouble and unfortunately had to retire. Nevertheless, Car 8 won, and we were able to achieve our goal of winning the Manufacturers’ Championship. This is a very happy result for the team and for Toyota, and I would like to congratulate Car 8 for its powerful driving until the end and its stunning victory.”
