WEC 2024 result after Round 5: 6 Hours of São Paulo

Toyota Gazoo Racing was victorious in the 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fifth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. This result for the #8 car marked the GR010 Hybrid’s second win of the season and represented a well-deserved reward for strong teamwork, an innovative tyre strategy and flawless driving. How did this WEC 2024 result right the disappointments of Le Mans? Read on to find out.

Back on the calendar after a ten-year absence, the Interlagos circuit in Brazil, South America, marked the start of the second half of the WEC 2024 season. It also represented an opportunity for Toyota to shake off the cruel disappointment of last month’s Le Mans race and take comfort in the valuable points that rekindled the team’s bid to retain the championship crowns for a sixth season.

WEC 2024 Round 5: free practice

Toyota has fond memories of the Interlagos circuit, as it was here that we secured our first WEC win in a hybrid-powered machine. However, it’s not the easiest circuit to manage due to its narrow width and anti-clockwise running, which means that the GR010 Hybrids have to adapted for left-hand-side refuelling.

Free practice was therefore used by the pit crews to familiarise themselves with this revised refuelling process and not lose their renowned speed. But for the drivers and engineers, the appearance of rain just before the first practice session meant that all cars started on wet tyres. This was not ideal as neither Nyck de Vries, Ryo Hirakawa, or the GR010 Hybrid itself, had ever physically raced at Interlagos before. So there were some necessary set-up adjustments needed to begin the process of optimising the cars for the circuit. Track conditions were beginning to improve until a red flag accident halted the morning session, at which point most competitors had only been able to record wet weather times.

Fortunately, a dry afternoon session gave the team the opportunity to explore the cars’ qualifying performance before switching to analysing the medium and hard compound tyres. Early fast laps from Mike Conway (now back from injury) and Sébastien Buemi put the two GR010 Hybrids at the top of the timing sheets – performances that the other teams couldn’t match.

WEC 2024 Round 5: qualifying

In advance of the 12-minute qualifying session, the teams were given a final four hours of practice to fine-tune their cars. This then led to 19 cars competing for the top ten places in the grid-deciding Hyperpole.

Qualifying duties for Toyota were given to team principal Kamui Kobayashi in car #7 and team-mate Sébastien Buemi in car #8. Both drivers opted for medium compound tyres and dedicated the first two timed laps to generating warmth in the tyres. Kobayashi set his fastest qualifying time of the 4.309km circuit on his second flying lap, which was enough for third place. Buemi, on the other hand, set his pace on his first effort and ended up seventh fastest in a session that saw the top ten separated by less than half a second!

In Hyperpole, Kobayashi set the best time straight away and positioned himself in provisional pole for the race. Meanwhile, Buemi improved on his second flying lap to move into second place. After a tense wait for the final moments of the session to elapse, Toyota’s first front-row lock-out this season was confirmed, rewarding a strong team effort from the drivers, mechanics and engineers.

WEC 2024 Round 5: 6 Hours of São Paulo

For the first time since Bahrain last November, an all-Toyota front row led the field away from the start. More than 73,000 passionate spectators saw #7 driver Mike Conway make a clean getaway from pole and begin building a cushion over the chasing pack. Meanwhile, #8 driver Brendon Hartley recovered after running wide into the first turn and quickly settled back into second.

Having initially enjoyed some free air for the first few laps, Conway was also the first to plot a course through lapped traffic. Though his priority was to preserve his medium compound tyres through the hot temperatures and abrasive track surface, he still managed to accumulate an eleven-second advantage in the opening hour. Hartley, on the other hand, had to have eyes in the back of his head to keep the third-placed Porsche a safe distance away.

At the 90-minute mark the #7 Toyota was still comfortably in control; until a drive-through penalty for a yellow flag infringement wiped out Conway’s advantage. However, a more significant issue materialised early in the third hour when a faulty control unit forced the car to pit. The issue was quickly repaired but when Nyck de Vries was eventually able to resume driving duties he rejoined the race in 18th place.

Ryo Hirakawa was now at the wheel of the #8 Toyota and charged with taking up the team’s victory challenge. After moving seamlessly into the lead, the Japanese driver extended his advantage to 30 seconds by half distance. This was enough time to briefly pit and change his two harder-worked offside tyres – a superior strategy that maintained tyre temperatures and managed degredation. With the car’s footprint refreshed, Hirakawa put in a super-fast stint to build a lead of over 40 seconds going into the final two hours. Meanwhile, de Vries’s battling performance had brought the #7 Toyota back into the fight for points.

The last stints were handled by Sébastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi in the #8 and #7 GR010 Hybrid respectively. Buemi maintained a consistent speed at the front, and with an hour remaining was able to make his final fuel stop and resume the race without losing his clear lead. He protected that advantage until the chequered flag, finishing nearly 69 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Kobayashi was determined to maintain the #7 car’s fight back, and in final five minutes pulled a breathtaking overtake to clinch fourth place and 12 valuable championship points.

WEC 2024 result in Round 5: 6 Hours of São Paulo

WEC 2024: manufacturer standings

Where is the WEC heading next?

This year’s WEC calendar has been expanded to eight rounds across four continents, each of which is hosted by a different country. The following table provides the order of events.