TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is determined to fight for a strong race result despite a frustrating qualifying for the 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fifth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Faced with challenging circumstances, the team and drivers pushed hard to maximise the potential of the GR010 HYBRIDs around Interlagos. Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa will start Sunday’s race from 10th in the #8 while Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries line up 18th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID.
The day started with third practice, a one-hour session during which the drivers sampled the cars in qualifying trim, before switching to race preparation and tyre analysis. Although Ryo’s lap set the pace, expectations were modest heading into the 12-minute qualifying session, which determined the 10 cars to reach Hyperpole.
When the lights turned green on a cloudy São Paulo afternoon, Kamui, who set pole position at Interlagos last year, was at the wheel of the #7, while Ryo took on qualifying duties in the #8 for just the third time.
At 4.309km, Interlagos is the shortest circuit on the calendar, making it difficult for drivers and race engineers to find a clean lap amidst traffic within the 18-strong Hypercar field. Kamui waited more than a minute in the pits before hitting the track, but his flying lap was only enough for 18th place.
Ryo enjoyed a more successful qualifying, earning 10th and a place in Hyperpole for the chance to fight for the top grid positions. Hyperpole saw him initially take ninth before dropping to 10th at the chequered flag, less than a second away from the pole position time.
Despite the frustrating result, the team takes encouragement from the first half of the season, which saw bold strategies, determined driving and fast pit stops often move the GR010 HYBRIDs up the field to achieve strong points finishes. The race begins at 11.30am local time (4.30pm CEST) on Sunday.
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “We came here with higher expectations after the great result last year but so far it isn’t going well. Hopefully we can get something positive from the race. Unfortunately, car #8 finished 10th and I was 18th, which is obviously not what we wanted. But that’s how it is, and we will try to recover positions in the race; hopefully we can score points with both cars.”
Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “We made it through to Hyperpole, which I think was the maximum result for us, considering the performance we have and what we have seen from the competition so far here. It’s been a tough week and it’s going to be a very challenging race but starting from 10th isn’t too bad. We will try to move forward and push for our first podium of the year.”
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The 2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC press kit, along with rights-free video material and photography of all TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsports projects, can be found at https://toyotagazooracing.com/media/.
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