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Toyota delivered a decisive Le Mans 24 Hours victory with its overhauled TR010 Hybrid, as Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway brought the #7 car home ahead of BMW and the sister #8 Toyota.
Toyota did not arrive at the 94th edition of the French endurance classic as the obvious favourite, but it stayed in the victory frame throughout the full 24 hours. The key move came just 30 minutes into the race, when both Toyota hypercars were brought in early and short-fuelled in an aggressive undercut attempt.
That call immediately reshaped the contest. Once the rest of the Hypercar field completed routine service at the end of the opening hour, the #8 Toyota moved from 15th into the lead, while the #7 TR010 also surged into the top 10. The early pattern echoed the strategic direction seen when Buemi led Le Mans after Toyota split its opening-hour strategy, and it proved central to Toyota’s race-winning platform.
Through the night, the #8 remained Toyota’s lead threat despite Brendon Hartley going off after the first safety car restart and the car receiving a drive-through for an FCY infringement. But a brake drum mounting change on Sunday morning cost it time and allowed the #7 to move ahead, just as a safety car compressed the field.
When racing resumed, the win appeared to sit between four cars from three manufacturers: the #20 BMW, the #12 Cadillac and both Toyotas. BMW’s Robin Frijns initially led, but a scruffy in-lap opened the door. Hartley and de Vries then moved both Toyotas past Norman Nato’s Cadillac to take command.
A later FCY, triggered by an LMP2 incident, effectively swung the balance toward the #7. Hartley had already stopped before the caution, while de Vries took emergency service during the FCY and then returned for a full stop. Once green-flag racing resumed, the #7 was clear in front.
De Vries was investigated for cutting the track in the penultimate hour but was cleared by the stewards. Kobayashi completed the run to the flag, winning by 11 seconds. It was Toyota’s first Le Mans victory since 2022 and sixth overall, with Conway and Kobayashi taking their second wins and de Vries his first.
Frijns recovered to pass Sebastien Buemi at Porsche Curves, securing second for the #20 BMW he shared with Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde. The #8 Toyota completed the podium, while the #12 Cadillac finished fourth, 32 seconds down.
Inter Europol claimed a dominant LMP2 one-two, with Jakub Smiechowski, Nick Yelloly and Tom Dillmann winning in the #43 Oreca after the #30 Duqueine retired with brake trouble.
In LMGT3, TF Sport’s #33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R won with Jonny Edgar, Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg, defeating the #78 ASP Lexus and #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin after a late class fight.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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