TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to continue its winning form and extend a record-breaking run of victories at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps when the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) visits Belgium for round three on Saturday 11 May.
A thrilling 6 Hours of Imola last month saw Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in their #7 GR010 HYBRID, overcome the elements to earn the team’s first victory of the season, complimented by a fifth place for Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 GR010 HYBRID.
Strong teamwork, skilful driving and smart strategy combined for a rewarding race, despite the tough Hypercar competition. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is determined to maintain that momentum and write another page of WEC history at Spa.
The team’s sequence of seven consecutive Spa wins is unprecedented in top-level endurance racing at the legendary Belgian track, which hosted its first 1,000km race – the predecessor to the modern six-hour WEC contests – in 1966. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has won eight of its 11 races there and is unbeaten since 2017.
Mike and Kamui can challenge for a hat-trick of wins in Belgium, having triumphed in the last two editions of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Sébastien has previously won the race five times, including alongside Brendon in 2021, while Ryo and Nyck are both challenging for their first Spa WEC win.
Spa is a firm favourite among drivers and fans for its undulating, high-speed sections through the Ardennes forest. At 7.004km it is the second longest circuit in WEC after Le Mans, and arguably the most spectacular thanks to legendary corners such as the Eau Rouge-Raidillon sequence, Pouhon and Blanchimont.
As the last race before the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15-16 June, Spa is a milestone in the team’s preparation for the WEC season highlight because the flowing high-speed track is an important opportunity to fine-tune the GR010 HYBRIDs on a lay-out which requires similar performance attributes to the Circuit de la Sarthe.
For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Spa holds extra significance as one of its two home races, alongside Fuji Speedway. The team’s technical centre is located 120km away in Cologne and all employees have been invited to show their support on race day, along with colleagues from Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels, Toyota’s European headquarters.
They will join the usual large crowd of enthusiastic fans in Belgium to witness two GR010 HYBRIDs take on a field of 19 Hypercars from Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot and Porsche in the last competitive action before Le Mans.
Track activities begin on Thursday 9 May with two 90-minute free practice sessions before the starting grid is determined in qualifying, which begins at 3.30pm CEST on Friday. The green flags wave for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race at 1pm on Saturday 11 May.
