Podium at Le Mans

A  big shout out today from everyone at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand and Toyota New Zealand for a fine podium for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team at a dramatic Le Mans 24 Hour race over the weekend.

The team overcame adversity to fight for honours, recovering from a difficult qualifying to meet the challenge of an ultra-competitive 23-car Hypercar field in extreme weather thanks to driver skill, efficient pit stops, smart strategy and a strong team spirit. José María López, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries bravely challenged for victory in their #7 GR010 HYBRID heading into the closing stages but missed out on completing a remarkable comeback drive.

They finished second by just 14.221secs after 311 dramatic laps, despite starting from 23rd. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa led the race for large stages but were denied a chance at victory when their #8 GR010 HYBRID was pushed into a spin with two hours remaining. The reigning World Champions finished fifth after a gallant effort.

And of course, well done to our rival competitors in a fantastic 24 hour long battle against each other and against the conditions. Nine cars on the lead lap after 24 hours of drama says a great deal about the quality of the record hybrid field.

Hats off too to our own New Zealand alumni who we follow with interest on the world stage and there were 18 of them to cheer on in France! Clement Novalak scored a podium in LMP2 while Dennis Olsen also climbed the stairs of success with a gritty third place in LMGT3

See you next year!