Sebastien Buemi, from Switzerland, Brendon Hartley, from New Zealand, and Ryo Hirakawa, from Japan, formed the team #08 Toyota Gazoo Racing, driving the Toyota GR010 Hybrid. This happened on June 12, 2024, during the FIA World Endurance Championship, Round 4, at Le Mans 24 Hours, in France, during the Practice and Qualifying session.
During the night Free Practice 2 session of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Sebastien Buemi achieved the fastest time in the Toyota GR010 – Hybrid #8. Buemi’s time of 3:27.474 was 0.524 seconds faster than Robert Kubica in the “private” AF Corse Ferrari 499P #89, with Kevin Estre in the Porsche 963 Penske #6 coming in third, 0.591 seconds behind the leader.
The second practice session of the Le Mans event took place at 10:00 PM local time, just a few hours after the field competed to qualify for the Thursday Hiperpole session. This session provided crucial night racing to prepare for the 24-hour endurance race over the weekend. Teams not only focused on lap times and getting used to the track, but also practiced pit stops and driver changes, essential tasks to be completed before the start of the race on Saturday.
The night in Le Mans presents challenges due to limited visibility and the presence of three different classes with varying speeds navigating the circuit amidst a multitude of headlights. However, halfway through FP2, there were no major incidents. Sebastien Buemi continued to top the time sheets in the Toyota #8 with a lap time of 3:27.474.
At the halfway point, Malthe Jakobsen was leading the LMP2 class driving the Cool Racing Oreca 07 – Gibson #37, while Maxime Martin was leading the LMGT3 class in the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 #46.
During the session, Felipe Drugovich had a flat tire in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R #311, which forced him to drive at Full Course Yellow speeds in the second half of the circuit. Fortunately, Drugovich safely returned to the pits without any major incidents.
Another incident occurred when Sali Yoluc temporarily stopped at Turn 1 in the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #66, but managed to restart and continue. At the same time, Ferdinand Habsburg also had a momentary stop on the track in the Alpine A424 #35, but quickly regained full speed. Habsburg ended up being the seventh fastest in the session, with the best time of 3:28.644.
Buemi’s halfway time remained the fastest, followed by Kubica in the Ferrari #83 and Estre in the Porsche #6. Norman Nato achieved the fourth fastest time in the Hertz Jota Porsche #12, with a lap time of 3:28.352. However, the session came to an early end when Callum Ilott had a serious accident on the Mulsanne straight, causing significant damage to the front of his car #963. Fortunately, Ilott walked away from the accident unharmed, but the JOTA mechanics faced a long night of repairs.
A video posted on Twitter showed the dramatic impact of the accident involving the JOTA Sport car #12, resulting in a red flag and the suspension of the session.
Nicolas Lapierre performed admirably in the Alpine A424 #36, completing the top five (lap time of 3:28.458).
Renger van der Zande led the Cadillac group in the Chip Ganassi-managed V-Series.R car #3, with the Dutch driver recording a time of 3:28.485 to secure the sixth fastest position.
Alessandro Pier Guidi, last year’s overall winner, finished in eighth place behind van der Zande and Habsburg from Alpine. Guidi piloted the Ferrari 499P #51 and achieved a lap time of 3:28.853.
The Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 was delayed by 20 minutes in the session due to Kamui Kobayashi’s spin during qualifying.
Kobayashi and his team needed a successful practice session to make up for their disappointing performance in qualifying. Car #7 had its laps invalidated for causing a red flag, resulting in them missing out on the Hyperpole.
Despite the setback, #7 managed to complete a solid race, with Nyck de Vries setting the ninth fastest time (3:29.106).
Matt Campbell secured tenth position in the Penske Porsche #5, recording a best time of 3:29.164.
In the LMP2 category, Jakobsen maintained his P1 position throughout the session, finishing with a lap time of 3:35.386. This was 1.165 seconds faster than Oliver Jarvis of United Autosports in car #22, and 1.214 seconds ahead of Scott Huffaker of Pro/Am Panis Racing in car #65.
The fourth and fifth positions in the LMP2 category were also taken by Pro/Am teams. James Allen drove the Duqueine car #30, while Ben Barnicoat drove the AF Corse car #183.
The third fastest Pro all-pro entry in LMP2 was the Inter Europol car #34, last year’s winner, with Clement Novalak achieving a time of 3:37.494, placing them sixth overall.
Proton Competition dominated the LMGT3 category, with Dennis Olsen leading in the Ford Mustang LMGT3 #88, setting a lap time of 3:58.689.
Olsen’s time was only 0.027 seconds faster than Marco Sorensen in the D’Station Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 #777. Augusto Farfus was just a thousandth of a second behind Sorensen, driving the Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 #31.
FP3 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place on Thursday at 15:00 local time.
© 2024
The Formula 1 driver, Max Verstappen, achieved an exciting victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix this Sunday. Verstappen, from the Red Bull Racing team, overtook Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes on the last lap of the race to secure first place. This was Verstappen’s fourth consecutive victory this season, solidifying his position as the championship leader.
The race started with Hamilton in pole position, but Verstappen showed his determination from the beginning. He pressured Hamilton throughout the race, always staying close to the leader. It was on the last lap that Verstappen finally managed to overtake, leaving Hamilton with no chance to react.
Verstappen’s victory was widely celebrated by his team and the fans. Red Bull Racing has been one of the strongest teams this season, and Verstappen has been the most consistent driver. With this victory, he increased his advantage in the overall standings and took another step towards the world title.
Hamilton, on the other hand, was disappointed with the result but praised Verstappen’s performance. He acknowledged that the Red Bull Racing driver was in an incredible rhythm and deserved the win. Hamilton is still confident in his chances of regaining the championship lead but knows he will have to fight hard in the upcoming races.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was also marked by some incidents. There was a collision between drivers Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc, resulting in both of them retiring from the race. Additionally, there was a red flag due to an accident involving drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Fortunately, none of the drivers were seriously injured.
The next race will be the Qatar Grand Prix, which promises to be another thrilling battle between Verstappen and Hamilton. Fans are eager to see who will come out victorious in this fierce competition for the world title. It will be an unmissable race for Formula 1 enthusiasts.
