TOYOTA GAZOO Racing chasing remarkable fifth successive Le Mans victory

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC team, partnered by Acronis, will be seeking to break yet more records as it bids for a remarkable fifth successive victory in the 90th running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Since winning the team’s first Le Mans crown in 2018, the Japanese manufacturer has won every subsequent race at La Sarthe, also becoming the inaugural Hypercar winners last time out.

Whilst Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López aim to defend their Le Mans crown in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley will also be hoping to add to their three and two wins respectively in the #8 GR010 HYBRID as Ryo Hirakawa makes his LMP1 debut.

“Le Mans is the big target for the whole team and we have prepared intensively to be ready for the challenge,” commented Kamui Kobayashi, Team Principal and driver, car #7.

“Even though we have won the race for the past four years, there are always difficulties, and situations when we need to solve problems. That happened in the race last year but, thanks to the efforts of the team and drivers, we found a solution and finally the #7 car won the race.”

Following on from the disappointment of a rare defeat at Sebring, the #7 drivers secured an incredible sixth victory for the team at Spa Francorchamps to get the season off and running. And the #8 car drivers will be hoping to bounce back from an unfortunate DNF at the last round of racing.

“I always look forward to Le Mans because it is the highlight of the season; we work so hard all year for this race,” added Sébastien Buemi, Driver, car #8. “It’s a privilege to have won the race three times already but that doesn’t change my motivation or emotions; every year I go there with a big determination to win.

“It’s such a challenging race and so many things are out of a driver’s control; the weather, safety cars, full course yellows and lapped traffic all have an influence. But we know the whole team has to be focused, without any mistakes, and this will give us the chance to challenge at the front.”

Acronis are proud to be the official Artificial Intelligence Partner of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team, helping the team perform to the best of their capabilities through machine learning. To find out more, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/lp/msp-sports/

 

Motorsport Technology