TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes on the immense challenge of the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15-16 June targeting its sixth victory in the legendary French race, round four of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season
As reigning World Champions, with five victories in the past six editions, the team has prepared exhaustively for the 92nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. Drivers, engineers and mechanics are ready to harness their strong team spirit and join an epic battle for honours at La Sarthe.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will compete with two cars, joining a 23-strong Hypercar grid alongside Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot and Porsche in the largest top-class field at Le Mans of the 21st century. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, winners already this season at Imola, will drive the #7 GR010 HYBRID while Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, the reigning World Champions, compete with the #8 GR010 HYBRID.
Five of the team’s six drivers have already stood on top of the Le Mans podium. Sébastien has four victories while Brendon has three. Mike, Kamui and Ryo are one-time winners, while Nyck makes his top-class debut, having competed four times in LMP2. Kamui holds the fastest-ever lap of the 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe, while Mike is the race lap record holder.
Toyota made its Le Mans debut almost 40 years ago, in 1985, and it has since achieved five victories, 17 podiums and eight pole positions, completing more than 16,000 racing laps, equivalent to more than five times around the circumference of the earth.
Kazuki Nakajima, Vice Chairman of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe and one of only ten drivers to win Le Mans three consecutive years, has been given the role of Grand Marshal for this year’s event by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, an honour which includes leading the field away on the formation lap for the race on Saturday 15 June in front of an expected 300,000 crowd.
Since the very first Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1923, the race has been a showcase for the latest automotive technologies and pioneering road-relevant innovations. Toyota advances its technology at Le Mans and, since returning in 2012, it has competed exclusively with a hybrid powertrain, emphasising a commitment to developing ever-better hybrid cars through endurance racing. The 2024-specification GR010 HYBRID features a 200 kW (272PS) hybrid motor on the front axle to deliver four-wheel drive, alongside a 3.5litre V6 twin-turbo engine, which runs on 100% renewable biofuel.
As well as using its latest technology on the track, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing brings it to fans around the circuit too. Last year a preview of a potential Le Mans future introduced the hydrogen engine GR H2 Racing Concept, and hydrogen is in the spotlight again via an exhibition at the Hydrogen Village, complimented by a Manufacturers Village display focusing on TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsport projects and philosophy.
Fans can get up close to the GR010 HYBRIDs on Saturday 8 June, when the two race cars join the traditional scrutineering in Le Mans centre, while another GR010 HYBRID takes part in a 2.1km procession through the city, starting at 3.30pm. An official test the following day features six hours of action.
Practice begins with two sessions on Wednesday 12 June either side of qualifying, when the fastest eight cars from each class progress to Hyperpole, at 8pm CEST on Thursday. After Friday’s driver parade, the race begins on Saturday 15 June at 4pm.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing offers fans from around the world the opportunity to delve deeper into its Le Mans challenge, including information about the team and live onboard cameras from the two GR010 HYBRIDs, via a dedicated website,https://toyotagazooracing.com/wec/special/2024/24h-lemans/.
