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Toyota Racing overcame challenges in an intense battle to win the 94th Le Mans 24 Hours over the weekend, the third round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Great reliability, resilience and engineering excellence – qualities that are shared by Toyota’s world-beating race and rally machines and its road-going cars – were critical factors in securing success in one of the greatest challenges in international motorsport.
A crowd of more than 350,000 fans watched an epic Hypercar contest in one of the closest and most unpredictable races for many years, which culminated in Toyota’s sixth Le Mans win.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries completed a nerve-wracking win by just 10.913secs after 381 laps of relentless competition in their No7 TR010 Hybrid. For Conway and Kobayashi, it is their second win after their 2021 triumph, while it is de Vries’s first overall win.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa completed a race to remember for the team with a podium for third place in their No8 TR010 Hybrid, less than 21 seconds off the lead.
Despite starting from modest grid positions after a disappointing Hyperpole performance, the TR010 Hybrids used an aggressive early strategy, refuelling earlier than their rivals and taking advantage of a clear track to gain time. This brought both cars into contention for the top six but although they showed exceptional pace – setting new fastest laps – setbacks interrupted their progress.
The No7 car suffered an early puncture which left it in a tight midfield battle. But relentless speed, particularly on Sunday morning, brought it into the top three with six hours remaining.
Meanwhile, the No8 car led the early stages thanks to the alternative fuel strategy. An off-track moment in the ninth hour, a drive-through penalty around half distance and a brake repair soon after left the crew facing a tough task to return to the front.
A safety car with less than six hours remaining reset the field and gave both cars the opportunity to show their speed and race craft in a four-car battle at the front. With three hours to go, bold overtakes from Hartley and de Vries put Toyota Racing into a one-two lead.
The No7 car established a gap at the front, although fuel and tyre strategies caused the podium positions to fluctuate over the remaining hours. The No8 battled bravely for second but ultimately had to change tyres in the last hour, dropping to third. Kobayashi kept his cool in the afternoon heat and brought the No7 to the chequered flag, followed soon after by Buemi in the \no8.
The double points scored at Le Mans extends Toyota Racing’s advantage in the manufacturers’ World Championship to 36 points, while the No7 crew have taken the lead in the drivers’ standings. The next race comes in four weeks’ time with the 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos in Brazil on 12 July.
Team Quotes
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car No7): “It was very challenging for us, but we never gave up. Our car has had a lot of second places at Le Mans but finally we got our second win. We have waited so long for this victory, it feels amazing. The whole week wasn’t easy, including the race which wasn’t smooth. We had a puncture early and that made it tough for us. But Mike, Nyck, our engineers and our pit crew did a great job. It was an incredible day. Thank you to everyone who made it happen, including all the fans who make this such a special event.”
Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “It was a crazy race. I knew we could move forward from our qualifying position, but I just didn’t know how far, or how tight the battle would be. Positions were swapping back and forth, and it wasn’t until the last couple of hours that we felt we were in with a chance. It has been an amazing job by everyone in the team. Kamui and Nyck were super-fast, they really got us into the fight at the front when it mattered, and credit to the pit crew because they were faultless. Thank you to everyone who has supported us, everyone in Cologne, Higashi-Fuji and at Toyota. This one is really special.”
Nyck de Vries (driver, car No7): “I am incredibly grateful, relieved and happy to win Le Mans. This is my first time win here, so I’m delighted. It’s been a long journey this week and during the race as well. We had various setbacks and challenges to overcome and, frankly speaking, at times I thought we were out of contention. But it just shows that you can never give up. It all came together and I’m so thankful for all the work the team has done to achieve this incredible milestone.”
Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “It was an unbelievable race. I am extremely happy for the team. For car No7 to win the race is fantastic for everyone. It was amazing for us to be on the podium with them. Even though it is a special moment, I am disappointed because I feel we could have done a bit better. But it was a great job from all the team to get our second win of the year with this car. We will remember this day for a long time because the competition was tough and we came out on top.”
Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “It was an up and down race, as usual here. We led for a long time and had a big gap at one point before the safety car. We had some good luck and some bad luck. Ultimately, it didn’t work out for our car. We fought really hard until the end and my team-mates did a fantastic job. I am genuinely happy for the whole team, for the No7 crew and the drivers. It’s an emotional moment.”
Ryō Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “It was a long 24 hours and a very tight battle all the way to the end. As a car crew we did our best and we had a good strategy. It wasn’t the perfect race for us, but we were still fighting for victory. I’m really happy for the team to get this win with car No7 but I have some mixed feelings because we led for a long time and couldn’t finish the job. We need to celebrate now because car No7 drove a great race and the team worked so hard for this win.”
ENDS
Note to editors: –
Click here to access the 2026 TOYOTA RACING WEC press kit.
Click here to download rights-free video material of the TR010 HYBRID.
The post Le Mans victory for Toyota Racing appeared first on Toyota Media Site.
Continue reading...
A crowd of more than 350,000 fans watched an epic Hypercar contest in one of the closest and most unpredictable races for many years, which culminated in Toyota’s sixth Le Mans win.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries completed a nerve-wracking win by just 10.913secs after 381 laps of relentless competition in their No7 TR010 Hybrid. For Conway and Kobayashi, it is their second win after their 2021 triumph, while it is de Vries’s first overall win.
Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa completed a race to remember for the team with a podium for third place in their No8 TR010 Hybrid, less than 21 seconds off the lead.
Despite starting from modest grid positions after a disappointing Hyperpole performance, the TR010 Hybrids used an aggressive early strategy, refuelling earlier than their rivals and taking advantage of a clear track to gain time. This brought both cars into contention for the top six but although they showed exceptional pace – setting new fastest laps – setbacks interrupted their progress.
The No7 car suffered an early puncture which left it in a tight midfield battle. But relentless speed, particularly on Sunday morning, brought it into the top three with six hours remaining.
Meanwhile, the No8 car led the early stages thanks to the alternative fuel strategy. An off-track moment in the ninth hour, a drive-through penalty around half distance and a brake repair soon after left the crew facing a tough task to return to the front.
A safety car with less than six hours remaining reset the field and gave both cars the opportunity to show their speed and race craft in a four-car battle at the front. With three hours to go, bold overtakes from Hartley and de Vries put Toyota Racing into a one-two lead.
The No7 car established a gap at the front, although fuel and tyre strategies caused the podium positions to fluctuate over the remaining hours. The No8 battled bravely for second but ultimately had to change tyres in the last hour, dropping to third. Kobayashi kept his cool in the afternoon heat and brought the No7 to the chequered flag, followed soon after by Buemi in the \no8.
The double points scored at Le Mans extends Toyota Racing’s advantage in the manufacturers’ World Championship to 36 points, while the No7 crew have taken the lead in the drivers’ standings. The next race comes in four weeks’ time with the 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos in Brazil on 12 July.
Team Quotes
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car No7): “It was very challenging for us, but we never gave up. Our car has had a lot of second places at Le Mans but finally we got our second win. We have waited so long for this victory, it feels amazing. The whole week wasn’t easy, including the race which wasn’t smooth. We had a puncture early and that made it tough for us. But Mike, Nyck, our engineers and our pit crew did a great job. It was an incredible day. Thank you to everyone who made it happen, including all the fans who make this such a special event.”
Mike Conway (driver, car No7): “It was a crazy race. I knew we could move forward from our qualifying position, but I just didn’t know how far, or how tight the battle would be. Positions were swapping back and forth, and it wasn’t until the last couple of hours that we felt we were in with a chance. It has been an amazing job by everyone in the team. Kamui and Nyck were super-fast, they really got us into the fight at the front when it mattered, and credit to the pit crew because they were faultless. Thank you to everyone who has supported us, everyone in Cologne, Higashi-Fuji and at Toyota. This one is really special.”
Nyck de Vries (driver, car No7): “I am incredibly grateful, relieved and happy to win Le Mans. This is my first time win here, so I’m delighted. It’s been a long journey this week and during the race as well. We had various setbacks and challenges to overcome and, frankly speaking, at times I thought we were out of contention. But it just shows that you can never give up. It all came together and I’m so thankful for all the work the team has done to achieve this incredible milestone.”
Sébastien Buemi (driver, car No8): “It was an unbelievable race. I am extremely happy for the team. For car No7 to win the race is fantastic for everyone. It was amazing for us to be on the podium with them. Even though it is a special moment, I am disappointed because I feel we could have done a bit better. But it was a great job from all the team to get our second win of the year with this car. We will remember this day for a long time because the competition was tough and we came out on top.”
Brendon Hartley (driver, car No8): “It was an up and down race, as usual here. We led for a long time and had a big gap at one point before the safety car. We had some good luck and some bad luck. Ultimately, it didn’t work out for our car. We fought really hard until the end and my team-mates did a fantastic job. I am genuinely happy for the whole team, for the No7 crew and the drivers. It’s an emotional moment.”
Ryō Hirakawa (driver, car No8): “It was a long 24 hours and a very tight battle all the way to the end. As a car crew we did our best and we had a good strategy. It wasn’t the perfect race for us, but we were still fighting for victory. I’m really happy for the team to get this win with car No7 but I have some mixed feelings because we led for a long time and couldn’t finish the job. We need to celebrate now because car No7 drove a great race and the team worked so hard for this win.”
| Le Mans 24 Hours – result | |||
| 1st | 7 | TOYOTA RACING | 381 laps |
| 2nd | 20 | BMW M Team WRT | +10.913sec |
| 3rd | 8 | TOYOTA RACING | +20.417sec |
| 4th | 12 | Cadillac Hertz Team Jota | +32.381sec |
| 5th | 51 | Ferrari AF Corse | +2mins 22.423sec |
| 6th | 35 | Alpine Endurance Team | +2mins 30.205sec |
ENDS
Note to editors: –
Click here to access the 2026 TOYOTA RACING WEC press kit.
Click here to download rights-free video material of the TR010 HYBRID.
The post Le Mans victory for Toyota Racing appeared first on Toyota Media Site.
Continue reading...
