Toyota ends a four-year wait at Le Mans with an 11-second win over BMW
Four years, six wins, and a race that nearly slipped away in the morning hours
Toyota came to Le Mans with unfinished business. Four years without a win at the circuit they once dominated. On Sunday, they settled it, but it was not straightforward. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries drove the #7 GR010 Hybrid to victory by 11 seconds over the BMW #20 M Hybrid V8, giving Toyota its sixth overall win at La Sarthe and its first since 2022.
How the race was won in the first 30 minutes
Toyota's strategy team made its move early. Just 30 minutes into the race, both GR010 Hybrids were called in for a short-fuel stop, undercutting the field before competitors had committed to their opening stint lengths. It was a bold call that put Toyota in control before most teams had found their rhythm, and it proved decisive in shaping the race order through the night.
Sister car drama, stewards and a nervous finale
The #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi had been running at the front before a brake drum mounting change in the morning hours dropped it out of contention for victory. The car recovered to finish third, but the incident was a reminder of how close Le Mans always is to unravelling.
The #7 had its own anxious moment in the penultimate hour. Nyck de Vries was investigated by the stewards for cutting the track but was cleared, allowing the Dutch driver to bring the car home for what is his first Le Mans overall win. Conway and Kobayashi, meanwhile, added a second Le Mans victory to their records.
BMW on the podium, Cadillac undone by power steering failure
BMW's result deserves attention. The #20 M Hybrid V8 of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde finishing second is the German manufacturer's best Le Mans result in the modern Hypercar era, and confirmation that the M Hybrid V8 programme has found genuine pace. That BMW could push a works Toyota to an 11-second margin over 24 hours is a statement.
Cadillac's #38 entry had been in contention before power steering failure struck around 4am and ended its race. The #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota car of Adam Lynn, Will Stevens and Nicolas Nato salvaged fourth, with Ferrari AF Corse fifth in the #51 and Alpine sixth with the #35.
Full top 10 Hypercar results
1. #7 Toyota Racing — Conway, Kobayashi, De Vries. 2. #20 BMW M Team WRT — Frijns, Rast, Van der Linde. 3. #8 Toyota Racing — Buemi, Hartley, Hirakawa. 4. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota — Lynn, Stevens, Nato. 5. #51 Ferrari AF Corse — Pier Guidi, Calado, Giovinazzi. 6. #35 Alpine Endurance Team — Da Costa, Milesi, Habsburg. 7. #83 AF Corse — Ye, Kubica, Hanson. 8. #007 Aston Martin Thor Team — Tincknell, Gamble, Gunn. 9. #101 Cadillac WTR — R. Taylor, J. Taylor, Albuquerque. 10. #36 Alpine Endurance Team — Makowiecki, Gounon, Martins.
AutoNext Take
An 11-second margin after 24 hours of racing is a razor-thin result that tells you almost nothing about who was fastest and everything about who managed the race better. Toyota managed it better. The early undercut strategy, the composure after the #8's brake issue, and the cool head when De Vries faced stewards scrutiny, all of it points to an organisation that knows how to win at Le Mans, not just how to go fast there.
