Toyota Gazoo Racing Wins the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Toyota Gazoo Racing Secured the win at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. However, the pole sitting No. 07 car wasn’t the triumphant car. The No. 08 GR010 found the pace and strategy to inch it’s way ahead of the sister pole sitting No. 07 car to win the race. The No. 07 car started from pole and had a seemingly positive grasp on the win until an ill fated pit stop with multiple technical issues cost the No. 07 car a large amount of time int he pits allowing the Porsches to gain ground and eventually pass and finish ahead. Despite the challenge the No. 07 finished P4. Toyota Gazoo Racing

Words from the Drivers of the No. 08 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “It is an amazing day for us on car #8, winning a race for the first time this year. We had a great car. Tire management was one of our strengths, 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. We scored good points in the manufacturers’ World Championship, and we will go to the next race aiming to keep that going.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It feels great to get the first win of the season. 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 tire 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.” 

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “I am so happy for our first victory of the year. It has been a long time since Bahrain when we last won but we never gave up and always pushed hard. My stint was not easy with the degradation, so I needed to look after the tires. I had the chance to change tires on the right-hand side but I still had to manage the tires 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. Thanks to the fans for their support all weekend and thanks to the whole team for their huge effort this week. There are three races to go so we will keep pushing for the title.”

Full Results from Sao Paulo

Toyota secured a front row sweep in Hyperpole for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo with Kamui Kobayashi leading the way for the team. Kobayashi drove the No. 07 Toyota Gazoo Racing Hypercar to a 1:23.140 beating the team’s sister car by just over a tenth of a second to pole position. Kamui Kobayashi said, “We got the best possible result as a team. Me and Séb certainly enjoyed it today. We had an amazing car, and it was fun to drive, especially because Interlagos is such a great track. We have struggled a bit in qualifying at times this season because the competition is really strong, but finally we have a pole position which is a fantastic feeling. After Le Mans, the team made a big effort for this race, thank you to them and everyone at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and a special thanks to the fans here at Interlagos for their support.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweep Front Row

The Toyota Gazoo Racing camp left nothing to chance in qualifying by locking out the front row. The team will attempt to use this advantage to finish the way they started. After Hyperpole Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8) said, “I really enjoyed it. It was my first qualifying for a long time, so it was nice to have the chance and I am very pleased with the result. It’s a great performance from the team and a one-two in qualifying for the first time since last year. It is just qualifying and there’s a long race to go, but it gives us a good starting position. Hopefully we can help car #7 win the race and get some good manufacturers’ World Championship points as well.”

Sarah Bovy Leads the Iron Dames to in Class Pole

Sarah Bovy lead the Iron Dames to their second FIA pole position for the LMGT3 class during qualifying. Despite an early red flag in the session Bovy put her head down using the 12 minutes left to the drivers to set a fastes tin class 1m34.413 lap. “Taking pole at São Paulo feels different because it is a track synonymous with Ayrton Senna,” said Bovy. “I’m a bit emotional right now because this is very special. Thank you very much to the entire team for giving me a great car again and I can’t wait go racing tomorrow.”

Qualifying Results From Sao Paolo

In damp track conditions and a shortened session the No. 93 Peugeot top the Hypercar tables. The session was red flagged for 40 minutes due to a crash involving the No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus LMGT3 car resulting in a reduced time session. Given the conditions and shortened track time many of the drivers didn’t have time to fire up their tires and get a few flying laps down. While Peugeot will celebrate topping the table they know that their competitors will be back on the gas in FP2 later today. The No. 02 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Alex Lynn finished P2 ahead of Andre Lotterer in his Porsche 963.

LMGT3

The No.59 United Autosports McLaren set the fastest time in FP1 with Nicolas Costa behind the wheel setting a 1m35.881s best lap. That time was 0.003s faster than Alex Riberas in the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin in P2 in class. FP2 Kicks off later today.

FP1 Results 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

The 2025 FIA WEC Calendar has been released. See the comments from the leadership committee below.

Words from the FIA

Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President: “Over the last couple of years the FIA World Endurance Championship has been enjoying an incredible period of growth in terms of both sporting level as well as popularity. With this came the calendar expansion and last year the series settled for an eight-round schedule that provides it with both geographical diversity as well a line-up of world-class racing venues to stage the events. It is therefore great news to have the same schedule confirmed for 2025, which for WEC means a stable base on which it can grow even further.”

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO): “The 2025 FIA WEC calendar is a continuity of 2024, with eight rounds scheduled on the world’s most famous circuits. This season is about stability and exposure in key geographical areas. 2023 was exceptional, 2024 outstanding. In 2025, we shall reach new heights, notably with Aston Martin joining Hypercar. See you next year for another amazing episode in motorsport history!”

Richard Mille, FIA Endurance Commission President: “The 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship calendar can be best summarised by the popular saying – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The eight rounds that we know from this year offer a great mixture of well-established circuits and give the series presence in both Americas, Asia, Europe and in the Middle East, providing the perfect stage for the events of the golden era of endurance racing to unfold. At the same time, being in so many corners of the world is great for the series, for the fans and for the manufacturers involved, giving them the chance to showcase their dream cars at so many markets.”

Frédéric Lequien, FIA World Endurance Championship CEO: “The 2025 WEC calendar is about consolidation and creating a schedule that works for both our teams and fans. The WEC is growing at an extraordinary rate but we must remain humble and by maintaining eight rounds, we are listening to our teams, stakeholders and partners by also keeping budget in mind. It is important for WEC to reach as wide an audience as possible and with eight races across five different regions, we will continue to achieve this.  We are delighted that Imola has committed to the WEC until at least 2028 – the circuit and city Mayor Marco Panieri have been a tremendous support and this year’s inaugural WEC race there was a huge success, which we look forward to emulating in 2025 and beyond.” 

The No. 06 Porsche Penske Hypercar driver by Kevin Estre claimed pole position in the Hypercar shoot out ahead of this weekends 24 hour race at the legendary Le Mans. The Frenchman best the No. 02 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R by a fractional 0.148s. Cadillac Racing had an incredible showing in Hyperpole securing P2 and P3 for the start of the 24 hour campaign. Only 7 hypercars participated in the Hyperpole shootout under the modified Le Mans WEC weekend format.

Ferrari AF Corse positioned themselves in the top 5 with a P4 and P5 starting position for the Italian side. With 24 hours of racing qualifying position becomes less important so Ferrari will look to return to winning ways for the 24 Hours of Le Mans; one the two most prestigious races on the calendar. It was a disastrous day for Toyota Gazoo Racing finishing P11 and P23. Toyota gazoo Racing finds themsevles in unfamiliar terroritory where race strategy will play an even larger role than expected to make a run for the top finishing positions. Given that in a 24 hour race anything is possible you can be rest assured that Toyota Gazoo Racing will do whatever is necessary to make sure they are in the fight for the win at the end of the race.

LMP2

“Spike” from AO Racing wowed the masses by securing pole in LMP2 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Louis Deletraz secured in class pole setting a 3m33.217s lap in qualifying. AO Racing claiming pole in the infancy of the start of their Hypercar program speaks to the team’s level of expertise. Competing with manufacturers who have been staples in this sport for years in the second year of the program is an amazing feat. Spike achieved pole by a margin of 0.6s well ahead of the P2 starter Idec Sport P2 car. If AO Racing can convert this early success into a race win; AO Racing will have solidified themselves as a key player in the field.

GT3

In the GT3 class Inception Racing who have been quiet all season pulled out an in class pole position. The finish was the first ever pole position for a McLaren in the World Endurance Championship. Brendan iribe led the way setting a best in class  3m58.120s which left him almost 1 second clear of the field. At this Inception Racing has the field figured out. However, come race time its anyone’s games.

24 Hours of Le Mans Qualifying Report

Hertz Team JOTA secured its first win in the World Endurance Championship at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. The win today sees the team to second in the overall standings, 22 points behind Porsche Penske. Hertz Team JOTA lead a Porsche 1-2 ahead of the No. 06 Porsche Penske car driven by driven by Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor. Despite the P2 finish the No. 06 car still leads the championship. In third was the No. 50 Ferrari that despite topping the charts in Hyperpole; could not convert pole starting position into a win.

The race was stifled by a major delayed after a red flag. The clean up effort took nearly two hours to repair the track and clear the debris. The steward made the decision to extend the race by the amount of time lost rather than cancelling the race at the expiration of the starting clock which is typical in endurance racing. The red flag came out due to an incident involving Earl Bamber and the No. 02 Cadillac which started from P2 after the No. 50 was disqualified for a technical breach. Bamber did not sustain any major injuries in the crash.

Ferrari Comments After the Race on Fight Back to P3

The No. 50 Ferrari was able to bounce back due to the stoppage effectively making the race a two stint sprint race. Miguel Molina, driver of the No. 50 car said, “I think the team showed its full potential at Spa, and it will be hard to forget how both our crew and our teammates in the 499P number 51 climbed up from the back. At the sixth hour, we were first and second, and I believe that positioning best represents what we saw on the track today.”

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance e Corse Clienti

“The team did a great job over the entire weekend at Spa. Today in the race ,the drivers pulled back many positions and took the lead with the two official cars, benefiting from the team’s excellent strategy, which allowed them to make the most of the tires. The third and fourth positions of the 499P numbers 50 and 51, as well as the class podium finish of number 83, are significant results. However, this race, which ideally should have concluded at the sixth hour when we were in even better positions, went on a lot longer.”

Manthey Finishes 1-2 at Spa in LMGT3

Manthey secured a 1-2 finish in the LMGT3 class in a drama filled battle at Spa. The pair were separated by 1.3s in the race. The No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 R LMGT3 of Richard Lietz, Yasser Shahin and Morris Schuring started in third and fought through the on track drama and closing battle in the closing laps.

World Endurance Championship Standings After the 6 Hours of Spa

Next on the FIA WEC calendar is the biggest race of the season – the 24 Hours of Le Mans – which takes place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on the 12-16 of June.

No.50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari driver Antonio Fuoco took his second consecutive pole position after setting a 2m02.600s lap in hyperpole. Unfortunately shortly after the session Fuoco lost that pole position due to a decision from the stewards. They said, “After having checked the Technical Delegate report, the stewards considered the minimum car weight did not comply with the relevant regulations. Consequently, the Stewards decided to impose the disqualification of car 50 of the qualifying and hyperpole sessions and the deletion of the lap times of these sessions.”

The decisions came after it was determined that the No. 50 Ferrari did not meet minimum weight requirements. The decisions meant that the No. 05 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 would inherit pole. The No. 02 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R claimed its highest ever starting grid position in P2.

Results From Hyperpole

The reigning champions bounce back in dramatic fashion this afternoon after a mixed conditions race threw all race strategies a curve ball. The rain held off until the two hour to go mark in the race. The rain prompted a need for swift action regarding tire strategy. You can view the closing stages of the race here:

For the second year in a row Toyota beat Ferrari on home soil. The result was a disappointing one for Ferrari after putting all 3 cars in the top 3 during qualifying. Additionally, Ferrari held the top position for over half of the race. However when the rain came the Ferrari AF Corse team was derailed on how to proceed. Ultimately the closing hours of the race is where the Ferraris fell off. Fuoco made a late lunge in the closing minutes to gain a position on the No. 08 Toyota but the effort wasn’t enough for a podium position.

Words from Ferrari on the 6 Hours of Imola Finish

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti

“The result at the end of the 6 Hours of Imola was not as expected, considering the great potential displayed by our 499Ps in the preceding days. When the rain came, the race was affected by the mistake of not varying the strategies among our three cars that had led up to that point. The disappointment is compounded by the regret of not delivering the deserved joy to the many fans who came to Imola and once again showed their immense affection for Ferrari and their passion for our involvement in the top endurance class. Among the positive highlights, I want to emphasise AF Corse’s success among the independent teams, with a first victory for the 499P number 83 in its second appearance in the championship.”

Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars

“We conclude the 6 Hours of Imola with regret about the result, as we had the potential to secure overall podium positions, having led the race for nearly four hours. We know that the Ferrari 499P’s performance on slick tires is excellent in damp track conditions, and even in the wet at the start, it was pretty good, so we tried to extend the lead over our competitors. However, in the end, misjudging the weather forecast, we made a late call that compromised the overall result. In the finale the number 50 499P delivered an outstanding stint in wet track conditions with slick tires, while the number 83 Ferrari secured an impressive class win, undoubtedly a positive aspect of the race. There is still much work ahead, and as always, we will approach it with humility, working to regain competitiveness at Spa.”

LMGT3

The LMGT3 victory went to the No. 31 Team WRT BMW M4 of Augusto Farfus, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael. The win came after a high risk high reward decision by the team to stay on slicks despite full wet conditions played a large part in their win due to saved time on the pitlane. The team secured a 1-2 with the sister No. 46 car finishing in second place. LMGT3 Qatar 1812km winners Manthey PureRxcing placed third in a hard fight back to the podium.

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal BMW M Team WRT

“What a great weekend for our LMGT3 crews! Qualifying and the race went very well, and we did the little things right. Augusto and Maxime stayed on slicks on a wet track and were able to show incredible pace. That gave us a good lead and ultimately the one-two victory. In the Hypercars, we were in the window where we belong this time after the big disappointment in Qatar. We are taking one step at a time and have already done some things very well here. On to the next race at Spa-Francorchamps”.

Valentino Rossi, #46 BMW M4 GT3:

“I am very happy about the one-two victory for Team WRT, for BMW M Motorsport, and my first podium in the FIA WEC. We already had a strong car on Saturday in qualifying, and Ahmad achieved a very good third starting position. In the race, we then decided to stay out on slicks. Augusto was a bit faster than Maxime at the beginning and took the lead. Nevertheless, I am very happy with the result”.

Full 6 Hours of Imola Results are Below

Antonio Fuoco secured Hyperpole for the No. 50 Ferrari hypercar ahead of tomorrows 6 hour endurance race at Imola. Fuoco set a fastest 1m29.466s lap which edge him and the No. 50 car team ahead of the No. 83 AF Corse car. It was a good day to be a Ferrari with the No. 51 finishing third in qualifying making a 1-2-3 finish for Ferrari. The No. 6 Porsche Penske 963 was the best of the rest finishing 4th in the session. Rain was an early threat but it stay away for a clean qualifying.

LMGT3

The class winners from Qatar Manthey PureRxcing with the Porsche 911 RSR LMGT3 driven by Aliaksandr Malykhin continued their amazing start to season with pole position at Imola. Malykhin set a 1m42.365s lap to take a decisive pole with a gap of 0.692s to the next car behind. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage will line up on the front row with the porsche

Full WEC Imola Qualifying Results are Below

Ferrari lead both practice sessions on Day 1 of the 6 Hours of Imola weekend. The No. 50 Ferrari Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco set a 1m30.957s lap outpacing the No. 6 Porsche by almost 4 tenths. Day 1 was all Ferrari with AF Corse lead Practice 1 and then Ferrari AF Corse taking the afternoon. The Ferraris looked particularly fast towards the end of the day.

LMGT3

TF Sport sister cars were set to finish the session 1-2 again until the final moments of the session as the No.81 car headed the No.82 Corvette ZO6 by 0.2s. Charlie Eastwood and Daniel Juncadella again set the times as American muscle starts to look strong in Italy.

Free practice 3 kicks off in a few hours time.

FP2 Results from Imola are Below