TOYOTA GAZOO Racing took important steps in its preparations for the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours with productive practice sessions when this week’s action began at the Circuit de la Sarthe, venue for round four of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
After setting the fastest lap in Sunday’s test, the reigning World Champions resumed the challenge for a sixth win at La Sarthe on the 40th anniversary of Toyota’s first appearance. Either side of two practice sessions, the GR010 HYBRIDs also fought to make it into Thursday’s Hyperpole contest.
Brendon Hartley finished 10th in qualifying and secured a place in Hyperpole for the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa. However, a badly-timed yellow flag contributed to Nyck de Vries ending up 16th in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.
“It was a well-executed session for our car,” commented Hartley. “We did a clean banker on the first lap, then I raised my game for the second, and it was a clean one. I couldn’t do much more, we just didn’t have the pace of the front runners.
“I am happy to get through to Hyperpole but unless the track conditions change, it doesn’t look like we will be fighting for pole position. On a positive note, the long runs in first practice look relatively strong and that must be the priority for us.”
With no track action since Sunday’s test, earlier this week the mechanics rebuilt both cars and participated in Tuesday’s Pit Stop Challenge, during which crews from every team compete against the clock to record the fastest tyre change. The #8 crew won the intra-team contest but narrowly missed the podium.
First practice began early on Wednesday afternoon, in warmer weather than on Sunday, with air temperatures close to 30°C. The team used the three-hour session to check car balance in qualifying and race conditions, whilst also comparing different mechanical set-up options and control settings. Two short red flags interrupted the programme, as did a slow puncture for the #8 late in the session, but both cars made an encouraging start and recorded 44 laps each.
Qualifying followed in the evening, with 21 Hypercars battling to earn one of 15 places in Hyperpole and, with heavier fuel loads at the start, the fastest times were always likely to come in the closing minutes. Both Nyck and Brendon set solid first flying lap times but needed to improve when others moved up the order. New tyres helped Brendon go faster on his final flying lap, and Nyck was on course to do the same. However, an incident for another car caused yellow flags and forced Nyck to abandon that lap.
A final attempt, on tyres which were no longer performing at their peak, could not bring any improvement, meaning the #7 provisionally holds 16th on the starting grid. Despite that disappointment, the team takes heart from last year, when the #7 fought for victory and finished a close second, despite starting 23rd.
Second practice took place after sunset, allowing drivers to experience the circuit in darkness for the first time this year. Drivers are required to complete five laps at night and all six completed this formality alongside a programme of set-up adjustments for the cooler, night conditions, as well as comparison of the soft and medium tyres.
Debris caused a 13-minute red flag just after half distance, and the team looked set to complete a trouble-free session until an incident in the final seconds. Whilst passing a slower GT car, Ryo was hit on the right side of the #8, breaking the wheel rim and causing minor bodywork damage.
Action resumes on Thursday at 2.45pm CEST with a three-hour third practice prior to Hyperpole 1 at 9.05pm. The 10 fastest Hypercars will then compete for the leading grid positions in the 15-minute Hyperpole 2, starting at 9.40pm, before another night practice until midnight. The race begins on Saturday 14 June at 4pm.
Le Mans 24 Hours – Free Practice 1
1st #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) 3mins25.148secs 31 laps
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Nielsen/Molina) +0.154secs 41 laps
3rd #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Vanthoor/Campbell) +0.420secs 41 laps
4th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.554secs 44 laps
5th #5 Porsche Penske (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet) +0.596secs 26 laps
6th #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Stevens/Nato/Lynn) +0.784secs 40 laps
11th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.123secs 44 laps
Le Mans 24 Hours – Qualifying
1st #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Stevens/Nato/Lynn) 3mins 22.847secs
2nd #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Magnussen/Marciello)+0.040secs
3rd #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.316secs
4th #38 Cadillac Team JOTA (Bamber/Bourdais/Button) +0.620secs
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Nielsen/Molina) +0.667secs
6th #5 Porsche Penske (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet) +0.697secs
10th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.141secs
16th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2.215secs
Le Mans 24 Hours – Free Practice 2
1st #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 3mins 26.156secs 28 laps
2nd #12 Cadillac Team JOTA (Stevens/Nato/Lynn) +0.451secs 28 laps
3rd #83 AF Corse (Kubica/Ye/Hanson) +0.524secs 25 laps
4th #4 Porsche Penske (Nasr/Tandy/Wehrlein) +0.592secs 23 laps
5th #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Nielsen/Molina)+secs +0.653secs 28 laps
6th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Magnussen/Marciello)+1.037secs 27 laps
14th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.634secs 28 laps
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