Kiwi Brendon Hartley, together with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa have won the manufacturer’s title in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Racing the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 GR010 Hybrid, the trio completed a thrilling fightback to retain the title when the 2024 season came to a dramatic conclusion in the Eight Hours of Bahrain.
Starting from one-two on the grid, the Toyotas took different race strategies. Each car led at different points, but the team entered the final stages of the race with only one car on track, down in 10th place after suffering setbacks.
A final-phase fightback by Buemi took the #8 GR010 Hybrid to victory, securing the team’s sixth successive manufacturers’ World Championship by just two points from Porsche.
Hartley was ecstatic.
“I am so happy for everyone in the team and at Toyota. The race didn’t go as smoothly at the beginning as it could have done. We tried the medium tyres, but it didn’t work. Then at the end Séb did an unbelievable stint. He was the star; it was an incredible drive.
“Thanks to everyone in the team, at Toyota and all our partners. We really had to fight for this win and championship, so it means a lot. For our car to end the season with a victory is fantastic going into the winter break.”
The #7 GR010 Hybrid had victory in its sights when it led at half distance, but a fuel pump issue forced Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries into retirement.
The Bahrain race concluded a 2024 season which featured 72 hours of racing at eight rounds on four continents over almost 10 months. The Toyota team’s season record stands at five podiums, including three wins, and two pole positions, earning 190 World Championship points.
The final race had started strongly for the team when Buemi led away from pole, but after 18 minutes he was hit from behind by a GT car and spun down to seventh. He recovered to fifth before Hartley took over late in the second hour.
He and Brendon and Hirakawa then battled against tyre wear in their stints, pushing to keep the #8 in the top six and still in the hunt. The race turned on two safety car periods early in the second half of the race, which closed the gaps throughout the 18-strong Hypercar field.
When racing resumed with just over an hour remaining, Buemi was 10th, 15secs from the lead, and began a fightback to revive the team’s World Championship dream.
A heroic charge through the field saw him overtake several rivals to move into second after his final pit stop and with just over half an hour remaining Buemi overtook the #5 Porsche for the lead. He then established a comfortable lead and won by 29.177secs.
