Toyota executed a perfect, textbook strategy throughout the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to claim its first victory since 2022, securing a sixth overall triumph and equalling the tally of British marque Bentley.
Toyota Racing lifted the iconic trophy at a sun-kissed Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time in four years, in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators at the venue and millions more watching around the world.
Drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway emerged as the team to beat at the end of the race, guiding the #7 Toyota to victory ahead of the sister #8 Toyota Racing entry, the #20 BMW M Team WRT and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA machine in an epic four-way battle to the chequered flag – underlining the “Platinum Era” status that the Hypercar category is building.
For Kobayashi, it was a second Le Mans victory. It marked a second triumph for British star Mike Conway and, for the first time in 38 years, a historic win for the Netherlands as Nyck de Vries became the latest Dutch driver to conquer Le Mans.
It looked set to be another Toyota one-two, but BMW’s never-say-die attitude ensured that the FIA World Endurance Championship points leaders – the #20 crew of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde – claimed second overall and a valuable haul of championship points.
Toyota could still be delighted with third place, although a few costly mistakes and strategy calls denied the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa another victory.
Meanwhile, Cadillac can take plenty of plaudits once again. A crowd favourite throughout the week, the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA crew gave everything in pursuit of victory, and the pace they demonstrated at Le Mans suggests they will remain contenders for years to come.
Top 5 Hypercars:
1. Toyota TR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – 381 Laps
2. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde – + 10.913
3. Toyota TR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – + 20.417
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – +32.381
5. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – +2:22.423
Fastest Lap:
· Rio Hirakawa (Toyota TR010 – Hybrid #8 Toyota Racing) – 3:25.041 – Lap 306
Inter Europol Competition lock-out LMP2
It was a grandstand finish in LMP2 as Inter Europol Competition worked well overnight to
bring both cars into the rostrum contention, but a second day charge from Forestier Racing by Panis had everyone on the edge of their seats, but after 24 hours of racing the Polish #43 ORECA with pilots Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nicholas Yelloly win the penultimate race at Le Mans for this specification LMP2 car!
Duqueine appeared set for victory before a costly trip through the gravel slashed its advantage. As the clock hit four hours remaining, disaster bestowed the LMP2 leaders. Heartbreak as the black and green machine was parked on the side of the road with suspected broken suspension.
Class winners:
LMP2:
Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly – 361 Laps
Corvette charge back to the top
Corvette capture the magic of Le Mans once again with iconic yellow #33 Corvette run by TF Sport took LMGT3 laurels with Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg taking a popular leap onto the top step of the podium.
Akkodis ASP Team put Lexus on the podium for the first time at Le Mans with the #78 car second and the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin joins in the celebrations in third.
Class winners:
LMGT3:
Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #33 TF Sport – Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg – 336 laps
Retirements:
· Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor
· Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina
· Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering – James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan Güven
· Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing – André Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert
· Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition – Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx
· Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken
· Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #79 Iron Lynx – Johannes Zelger / Matteo Cressoni / Lin Hodenius
· Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #54 Vista AF Corse – Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci / Davide Rigon
· Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx (Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin
· Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #13 Thirteen Autosport – Orey Fidani / Lars Kern / Matthew Bell – By Melissa Warren
