Toyota Gazoo Racing pulled off a rare victory within the Hypercar class within the 6 Hours of Imola, the second spherical of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. The #7 automotive, pushed by Mike Conway, Nyck de Vries, and Kamui Koboyashi, drove an excellent race, battling a really troublesome monitor, altering and treacherous circumstances, and fierce competitors from Porsche Penske Motorsport to win a really exhausting fought race.
Winners on the Qatar 1812km, the #6 Porsche got here dwelling second forward of the sister #5 automotive in one other very sturdy weekend for the German group. The primary Ferrari AF Corse, the pole-sitting #50 automotive, got here dwelling 4th after one other disappointing weekend for the Scuderia. The #8 Toyota got here fifth, adopted by a unbelievable outcome by the #20 BMW M Workforce WRT automotive. The #51 and #83 Ferraris got here dwelling seventh and eighth.
In the meantime, in LMGT3, it was an excellent 1-2 end for Workforce WRT, the #31 automotive claiming victory over the #46 automotive. This outcome signifies that native legend Valentino Rossi claims his first podium, taking second place alongside together with his teammates Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin. Winners in Qatar, Manthey PureRxing, secured third place of their Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3.
Talking after the race, Koboyashi stated “the group made an incredible achievement. I attempted to not mess up! The monitor was actually difficult and I had lots of stress from automotive #6 who did a tremendous job. Due to the group and the assist in Italy, and naturally these two guys right here” referring to his fellow drivers.
After his first WEC victory, de Vries stated “I’m very glad and really grateful to be sharing the automotive with Kamui and Mike. The group executed the race completely and I feel we actually deserved this one.”
Race Report
An especially attractive grid lined up after qualifying on Saturday. All three Ferrari Hypercars locked out the entrance three positions. The #50 manufacturing unit Ferrari 499P certified on pole, adopted by the privateer #83 Ferrari and the Le Mans profitable #51 automotive. The Scuderia had been intently adopted by the 2 Porsche Penske Motorsport vehicles, with reigning champions Toyota Gazoo Racing in sixth and eighth break up by an incredible qualifying outcome for the #20 BMW M Workforce WRT Hypercar.
The highest 8 survived the primary chicane, with the one change being the #83 and #51 vehicles switching locations. However behind them chaos reigned. Braking into Variante Tamburello, one of many Alpine Endurance Workforce vehicles locked up into the again of the #94 Peugeot, with a serving to nudge from the Isotta Fraschini behind, and a domino impact crash took over, inflicting injury to Alpine, Peugeot and BMW. After a short security automotive stint, the race received again underneath means.
To the delight of the Italian followers, the #46 BMW restarted the race in 2nd place in LMGT3 with the opposite BMW in third. Sarah Bovy within the Iron Dames Lamborghini suffered some form of electronics challenge on the Rivazza, dropping her proper to the again of the sphere the place she battled along with her Iron Lynx teammate briefly earlier than getting referred to as again into the storage for repairs. As a result of injury brought on by contact, no knowledge was flowing from the automotive to the storage, that means they had been unable to race as a consequence of FIA laws till it was repaired. Sadly, this was not attainable and the Iron Dames had been pressured to retire.
In the meantime, in Hypercar, the 2 Ferrari manufacturing unit vehicles led the way in which from a really speedy three means battle between Ferrari, #6 Porsche and Mike Conway in a decided cost in his #7 Toyota. Halfway by lap 9, round 20 minutes into the race, the main pack hit the LMGT3 visitors for the primary time. One of many greatest speaking factors going into this race was how troublesome it will be to barter the visitors on such a slim monitor. Including to the complication was the total course yellow of the day, which led to a spot forming between the highest 4 and the #7 Toyota which was pressured to drop again as a consequence of visitors. Nonetheless, because of the nature of the visitors, Conway was proper again behind the Porsche in lower than a lap. It’s going to be a race of fixed ebbs and flows.
Issues for Thomas Flohr within the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 at 35 minutes. The Swiss driver took an excessive amount of curb into the Tamburello chicane and have become a passenger because the automotive dug itself into the gravel lure, inflicting the second full course yellow of the race. Because the race went again to inexperienced, the battle for seventh raged between René Rast within the BMW and Sébastien Buemi within the #8 Toyota. After a disappointing season opener for BMW, it’s unbelievable to see them race so exhausting in opposition to the reigning champions. Buemi was even informed he had additional energy to deploy as a consequence of their technique, however couldn’t make a transfer previous the BMW.
Simply after the one hour mark, the primary pitstops for Hypercars started. The race main #50 Ferrari and the #83 Ferrari blinked first and got here in, giving Antonio Giovinazzi within the #51 one lap to attempt to make the technique rely. The #83 managed to get previous the #50 automotive within the pit lane. However the large information was but to return. On account of visitors and totally different methods, as soon as the primary spherical of pitstops had been by on lap 38, the brand new high six was #51 Ferrari, #6 Porsche, #7 Toyota, #83 Ferrari, #5 Porsche, after which the beforehand race profitable #50 Ferrari. In LMGT3, the sphere seemed rather more steady. The #92 Porsche led the way in which from the 2 Workforce WRT BMWs, as had been the case for the entire race to date.
On the 90 minute mark, the primary correct Hypercar overtake passed off because the #50 Ferrari pulled off a beautiful transfer up the within at Tamburello of Frédéric Makowieki within the #5 Porsche having adopted him up the pit straight within the slipstream. In the meantime, the #83 Ferrari needed to serve a drive by penalty for not respecting the total course yellow process, which dropped Robert Kubica again all the way down to ninth.
At 65 laps, virtually two hours in, the #7 Toyota was nonetheless all around the again of the #6 Porsche, because it had been for your entire second stint of the race. Conway acquired the message that they had been going to attempt to overtake the Porsche within the pit stops, however that didn’t cease him making an attempt his finest to make an overtake rely, retaining inside a second of the Porsche for nearly a complete hour.
With two hours gone, the second spherical of pit stops began. After they had been performed and dusted, the highest six had been #51, #50 Ferrari, then the #7 Toyota which managed to leapfrog the #6 Porsche, after which the #8 Toyota which pulled off the identical transfer on the #5 Porsche. Nonetheless, on the one and two hour marks, the vehicles in 1st and 2nd had been the Hertz Workforce JOTA Porsches. By going longer of their stints, the privateer Porsche group seemed like they may sneak a rare outcome.
The Italian followers had a discipline day when Valentino Rossi climbed into the #46 BMW. The #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari, which had managed to make it as much as second as a consequence of various methods, was put underneath immense stress from the house hero from the second The Physician received into the automotive, placing on an incredible present in his debut season on 4 wheels.
After a mammoth virtually three hour stint, race chief Giovinazzi pitted and altered with James Calado. He instantly needed to defend from Miguel Molina, the brand new driver within the #50 Ferrari. The 2 battled for almost all of a lap as the brand new tyres on #51 got here as much as temperature, Calado simply holding on to the race lead. Pretty quickly after that, Nyck de Vries, now within the #7 Toyota, had caught the #50 Ferrari with Molina being put underneath immense stress by the younger Dutchman.
Three and a half hours in, Carl Wattanna Bennett misplaced management of his Isotta Fraschini at Variante Alta, ending up within the gravel parked by the barrier, bringing out a full course yellow because the wind elevated and the climate threatened to show bitter. De Vries received an exceptional restart and claimed 2nd from Molina on the run all the way down to Rivazza on lap 125.
Barely a lap later, Callum Ilott within the #12 Hertz Workforce JOTA received out of form braking down the hill into Rivazza, beaching him within the gravel. This triggered a digital security automotive (VSC), which was a catastrophe for the #51 Ferrari which had dedicated to a pitstop. Because the VSC transformed to a full security automotive, #51 had dropped to 4th and the race chief was the #7 Toyota, adopted by the #50 Ferrari and the #6 Porsche.
The rain began to fall with simply over 2 hours to go. The #7 Toyota misplaced the result in the #50 Ferrari virtually immediately because of the circumstances. On the finish of that lap, each Toyotas pitted and all three Ferraris stayed out on the slicks, playing that the rain wasn’t going to final. Nonetheless, after a number of extra laps of getting to tiptoe round a sodden sector 3, the group threw their technique apart and introduced within the Ferraris for full wets, throwing away the lead and bringing them again out in sixth to eighth place, gifting the lead again to the #7 Toyota.
Whereas Ferrari had been disillusioned, Sheldon Van Der Linde carried out remarkably in his #20 BMW to be in 4th, battling the #8 Toyota for third place. In LMGT3, race main Manthey PureRxing additionally pitted for wets whereas the Workforce WRT BMWs elected to remain out, placing the Porsche all the way down to third. One of many BMW engineers informed the drivers on the radio that they groups merely didn’t know what to do when it comes to altering to wets. With an hour and a half to go, the race was nonetheless very up within the air.
With half-hour to go, all of the Hypercars had been again on slicks with #7 Toyota nonetheless within the lead, adopted by the 2 Porsche Penske Motorsport vehicles. For the ultimate stretch, gas saving and technique had been going to be essential. After 192 laps, with lower than 20 minutes to go, Estre within the #6 Porsche had closed proper as much as the again of Koboyashi within the Toyota. Porsche had a 5 second penalty to be utilized after the race, so Estre appeared to have his work reduce out to assert outright victory.
Whereas Toyota #7 remained in entrance, the #8 automotive threw away 4th place on the final lap, drifting extensive at Tamburello and permitting the #50 Ferrari to stand up to 4th. Ferrari driver Fuoco set the quickest lap of the race on lap 203 of 205. For a group who began 1st, 2nd and third, this can be scant comfort for the Scuderia who confirmed a lot promise racing at dwelling.
Championship Replace
The crew of the #6 automotive stay atop the championship standings in Hypercar on 56 factors. The #7 Toyota crew soar to second on 40 factors, simply 1 level forward of the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport group.
In LMGT3, no change on the high as Manthey PureRxing cleared the path on 54. With their win at present, the #31 crew at the moment are tied in second with the Coronary heart of Racing Workforce who didn’t actually appear to be contenders at any level at present however completed 2nd in Qatar. 1 level behind them, the #46 crew are in 4th on 36 factors.
Up Subsequent
The following spherical of the FIA WEC is the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa on 11 Might. Observe The Checkered Flag for all the driving force and group reactions after this race.
You’ll be able to see full race outcomes right here and championship standings right here.
