TOYOTA GAZOO Racing returned to winning ways and conquered a dramatic 6 Hours of Imola after an incredible team effort in the second round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
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.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa completed a successful day for the team by making up positions during the race to finish a strong fifth in their #8 GR010 HYBRID.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s first victory of the season closed the gap to Porsche to just nine points in the Manufacturers’ World Championship heading to round three at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 11 May. The #7 crew are now second in the drivers’ standings, 16 points behind the leaders.
Having started sixth, Mike showed his fighting spirit in the opening laps when he made a move for fifth. But, on the narrow Imola circuit, overtaking was very difficult, something Sébastien also discovered from eighth.
The team used smart strategy and pace around their perfectly-executed pit stops to gain positions. Mike moved into the top three before handing the #7 to Nyck at the first driver changes, around the two-hour mark. Sébastien was also on the move and Ryo took over the #8 in fifth.
Nyck put intense pressure on the leading Ferrari pair before rain and different strategies in the fourth hour threw the race wide open. Nyck 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 emerged into a lead of more than 20 seconds and Brendon was up to third as the race entered its final 90 minutes.
With an hour remaining, both cars made their penultimate pit stops and reverted to slick Michelin tyres. Other rivals pitted as well and Kamui returned to the front, leading a pair of Porsches, while Brendon crossed a gravel trap twice on his out laps as the tyres struggled to come up to temperature on the damp track.
Finally on hot tyres, Brendon put in a string of fast laps to move up to fourth, and closed on the third-placed #5. But with less fuel on board than their rivals, both GR010 HYBRIDs had to drive efficiently going into the final 30 minutes, setting up a tense showdown for victory.
Kamui 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. Brendon and the #8 crew had to settle for fifth place after being overtaken by the #50 Ferrari on the final lap.
6 Hours of Imola – Race Result
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 205 laps
2nd #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +7.081secs
3rd #5 Porsche Penske (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki) +25.626secs
4th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +31.469secs
5th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +33.777secs
6th #20 BMW M Team WRT (Van der Linde/Frijns/Rast) +1 lap
