Sébastian Buemi: “I’m so happy to finally have a weekend without any issues.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing have put their victory at the 6 Hours of São Paulo down to “flawless driving, strong team work and a superior tyre strategy.” The Japanese team’s second victory of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) puts the team just four points behind Porsche in the manufacturers’ championship, a tantalising prospect with three races still to run.

The weekend started strongly for Toyota. At the circuit where they claimed their maiden hybrid-powered WEC victory back in 2012, the team managed to lock-out the front row of the grid, the first time this has happened for Toyota since the final race of the 2023 season. Brendon Hartley in the #8 car locked up at the first turn, running wide. However, the Australian recovered into second position, keeping the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car at bay while Mike Conway in the #7 car built a commanding lead.

The triumphant #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing car. Credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing

The lead changed hands in the third hour. The #7 car suffered a control unit issue, forcing them into the pits and dropping them down to 18th in the Hypercar class. In the #8 car, Ryo Hirakawa and then Sébastian Buemi both put in fantastic, clean, professional drives, meaning that they secured victory when the chequered flag fell with a gap of 1:08.811 ahead of the second place #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car.

Meanwhile, a gutsy recovery drive from Nyck de Vries put the #7 car back into the points, no easy feat given the depth of talent on the 2024 WEC grid. When Kamui Kobayashi took over, the pressure did not alleviate, the Japanese driver securing fourth place with a superb move on the #51 Ferrari AF Corse with less than five minutes left on the clock.

“For the team, this was definitely our week” enthused #7 driver and team principal Kobayashi. “We had good pace in qualifying then both cars were really strong in the race and we managed the tyre degradation really well. Congratulations to car #8 for the victory; they drove a great race. Obviously, car #7 had the potential to win but unfortunately we had an issue and that cost us time in the pits. From then on it was a difficult situation for us but we tried our best to come back, and fourth was the best we could realistically achieve.“

“We still feel like this one got away from us” admits Mike Conway, making his return to the team having missed the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to a cycling accident. “We had such a strong car all day. We had really good tyre wear and thought we were looking good. But at the end of my stint, we started to notice the issue. The team tried to fix it and we lost time, so we went all the way to the back. Kamui and Nyck drove well to get us back up to fourth.”

The winning #8 drivers (L-R): Ryo Hirakawa, Sébastian Buemi, and Brendon Hartley. Credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Meanwhile, their teammates in the #8 car were rather more celebratory. “It feels great to get the first win of the season” enthused Brendon Hartley. “We haven’t had the best of seasons up to now on car #8 so to get this win is fantastic. Car #7 did an amazing race, they were flying today, so I feel bad for them. My first stint at the start was not easy, with a lot of tyre degradation but we got on top of that and had a nice, clean race. We got the win and that’s what matters. We also scored good points for the World Championship, so we want to keep this momentum for the next races.”

Sébastian Buemi, the man who drove the car across the line to victory, shared that sentiment. “Tyre management was one of our strengths,” explained the Swiss driver, “particularly the fact we could use the medium compound throughout the race which really helped us have good pace. I’m so happy to finally have a weekend without any issues after a tricky start to the season. We had a strong qualifying with the one-two but car #7 was unlucky with their issue. They were very fast and deserved a much better result than that.”

Ryo Hirakawa offered some insight into how the seemingly straightforward victory was maybe not what it appeared. “My stint was not easy with the degradation,” the Japanese driver explained, “so I needed to look after the tyres. I had the chance to change tyres on the right-hand side but I still had to manage the tyres a lot, so I was happy I could keep the gap to the car behind. For the team in the manufacturers’ World Championship, it was important that we won the race, and I am happy we did it.“

The Toyota Gazoo Racing flags fly for the victorious team. Credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI

The championship moves on to the USA for the next round, the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas on 1 September. With an ever-shrinking gap between competitors, particularly Toyota closing in on Porsche, this year’s WEC season keeps getting better and better.