TEAM & DRIVER

WEC 2024 TEAM & DRIVER

DRIVER

  • MIKE CONWAY

    MIKE CONWAY

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
    Born-- August 19, 1983 Nationality-- Sevenoaks, Great Britain

    Mike Conway (born August 19, 1983) is a British racing driver. Starting from kart racing, he progressed to Formula Ford and Formula Renault UK in his home country, the UK. He entered British F3 in 2005 and won the championship the following year. In 2007, he participated in GP2 and also experienced working as an F1 test driver. From 2009 to 2014, Conway participated in the IndyCar Series in the United States. From 2013, he competed in the LMP2 class of the WEC. In 2014, he became a WEC reserve driver for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and from the following year he became a regular driver of car No. 7. In the 2019-2020 season, his team then won the championship. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he teamed with Kamui Kobayashi in 2021 to win the team’s first victory there, while also winning back-to-back WEC titles. In 2022, his team finished 3rd in the series ranking. In 2023, his team won four races to finish the series in 2nd place. In 2024, he will again participate as in WEC, driving mainly for car No. 7.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • KAMUI KOBAYASHI

    KAMUI KOBAYASHI

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
    Born-- September 13, 1986 Nationality-- Hyogo, Japan

    Kamui Kobayashi (born September 13, 1986) is a racing driver from Hyōgo Prefecture. He started karting at the age of nine and became the champion of the All Japan Junior Karting Championship in 2000 and the ICA All Japan Karting Championship the following year. In the same year, he took part in the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) and won a scholarship. In 2002, on his 15th birthday, he obtained a limited competition license and made his four-wheel race debut in Formula Toyota. Since 2004, he has taken on the challenge of competing in European formula racing as a TDP (currently TGR-DC) driver. Kobayashi scored a win in GP2 in 2008 and was GP2 Asian champion the following year. He has been fully involved in F1 since 2010 and has finished 3rd in the 2012 Japan Grand Prix. Since 2015, he has participated in Super Formula. He has also participated in the full WEC series since 2016. At the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, he took pole position with a course record (at the time). In the 2019-2020 season, Kobayashi’s team won four races to be crowned champion for the first time. In 2021, his team won the Hypercar category in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time with the GR010 HYBRID (car No. 7). The following year, he also served as representative of the WEC team and helped Toyota win its third consecutive Manufacturer's title. In 2024, he will continue to compete in WEC with the same team structure, and he will also continue to compete in Super Formula.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • NYCK DE VRIES

    NYCK DE VRIES

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 7 Driver
    Born-- February 6, 1995 Nationality-- Uitwellingerga, Netherlands

    Nyck de Vries (born February 6, 1995) is a racing driver from the Netherlands. Due to the length of his actual name, he goes by his nickname “Nyck” and that has become is race name. Beginning in kart racing, he won titles in the German Junior championship and other categories in Europe and internationally. After that, Nyck performed notably in beginner class formula categories in Europe, and eventually he won the FIA-F2 class championship in 2019. After that, he won the Formula E series title in 2020 and 2021. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons Nyck also competed in F1, but he was unable to earn a regular seat. With TOYOTA GAZOO Racing he became a test and reserve driver from 2020, while also participating in WEC with a different team in the LMP2 class. For the 2024 season, Nyck has been chosen to compete on the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in WEC and will be competing for the title along with fellow drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway in car No. 7.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • SÉBASTIEN BUEMI

    SÉBASTIEN BUEMI

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
    Born-- October 31, 1988 Nationality-- Aigle, Switzerland

    Sébastien Buemi (born October 31, 1988) is a Swiss racing driver. He started karting in 1993 and has won titles in the Swiss and European series. In 2004, he made his racing debut in German Formula BMW, and the following year he won a scholarship from a global beverage manufacturer, after which he finished the series ranked 2nd the following year. After that, he participated in the Spanish and Euro F3 series and the A1 Grand Prix. In 2007, Buemi took a spot in GP2 as a substitute for an injured driver and became a reserve and test driver for the F1 team. He went on to become a regular F1 driver from 2009 to 2011. From 2012, he competed in the WEC with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and as a regular driver of the No. 8 car, he won the championship in 2014 and in the 2018-2019 season. Also, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he won three consecutive titles with Kazuki Nakajima and others from 2018 to 2020. In 2022, he drove the GR010 HYBRID and won the series championship for the third time with two wins and three second places, including a victory at Le Mans. In 2024, he will continue to compete as a main driver for car No. 8 and aim for a fifth win at Le Mans and a third straight WEC title.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • BRENDON HARTLEY

    BRENDON HARTLEY

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
    Born-- November 10, 1989 Nationality-- Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Brendon Hartley (born November 10, 1989) is a racing driver born in New Zealand. He started karting at the age of six and won the Formula Ford Festival in his native New Zealand at the age of 13. The following year, he received a scholarship from a world-class beverage manufacturer and participated in Formula races throughout Europe. In 2009, he was offered the chance to become a reserve and test driver for an F1 team but declined the offer in order to focus on racing. After that, Hartley participated in spot entries in GP2, and since 2012, he has participated in endurance competitions such as WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2017, his team also won Le Mans and the WEC title. The following year he became a regular driver in F1, and the following year he also became a test driver. He joined TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in late 2019, and teaming with Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in the 2019-2020 WEC season he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finish the series ranked 2nd. In the 2021 season, he finished second in the series driving the GR010 HYBRID. In 2022, Hartley drove the No. 8 GR010 HYBRID and won two series races with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa, including Le Mans, and thus won his third series championship. The following year, competing with the same team structure he won two races to take his second WEC series championship. In 2024, Hartley will be aiming to get the win at Le Mans that they missed last year and their third straight WEC championship.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • RYO HIRAKAWA

    RYO HIRAKAWA

    GR010 HYBRID Car No. 8 Driver
    Born-- March 7, 1994 Nationality-- Hiroshima, Japan

    Ryo Hirakawa (born March 7, 1994) is a racing driver from Hiroshima Prefecture. He started karting in 2007 and won the first round of the All Japan Junior Karting Championship series the following year and went on to win the season title. In 2009, he attended the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) and became the youngest driver in history to obtain a JAF International Limited A license at the age of 16 years and one month. In 2012, he participated in the Japan F3 Championship series and became the champion. The following year, he competed in Super Formula. In 2015, he participated full-time in the GT500 class of SUPER GT and won two races, including the opening round. In 2017, Hirakawa teamed with Nick Cassidy and became the youngest duo ever to become champions (both at the age of 23). In 2016 and 2017, he also competed in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hirakawa did not compete in Super Formula in 2016 and 2017 but he returned in 2018, and went on to finish the 2020 season ranked 2nd, and the following year he missed one race but still managed to rank 4th on the season. Hirakawa also competed in the GT500 class of SUPER GT until 2021, where he remained in competition for the title almost every year. From 2022, he competed in the WEC, driving the No. 8 car of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. He won his first World Championship with a record of two wins, including a victory at Le Mans, and three second places in the series. In 2023, the team won back-to-back WEC titles. In 2024, Hirakawa will again drive car No. 8 in search of his third consecutive title. He will also serve as a reserve driver for the renowned McLaren F1 team, where he will seek to contribute to the team and participate in F1 races.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

TEST & RESERVE DRIVER

  • RITOMO MIYATA

    RITOMO MIYATA

    Born-- August 10, 1999 Nationality-- Kanagawa, Japan

    Miyata Ritomo (born Aug. 10, 1999) is a racing driver from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. At the age of four he started kart racing and went on to win numerous local titles. From 2013, he competed in the All Japan Karting Championship series, and the following year he won the KF1 class championship title. He made his debut in car (4-wheeler) racing in the FIA-F4 championship launched in 2015, finishing 4th in the opening round and 2nd in the fourth round. In 2016, he won a scholarship to attend the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS), participated full-time in the FIA-F4 championship series and became the youngest driver ever to win a victory in Round 5 at Fuji Speedway, before going on to win consecutive championship titles that year and the following year. In 2017, he participated in the All Japan F3 championship (currently the All Japan Super Formula Lights championship /SFL) finishing 2nd in the championship in 2018 and again in 2019. In 2020, he became the first champion of the SFL series, while making spot entries in the Super Formula series. He began competing in SUPER GT from 2018 in the GT300 class, and won his first race in 2019, while also making spot entries in the GT500 class. In 2020 and ’21 he stepped up to the GT500 class, winning two pole positions and taking two podium finishes in 2021 to prove his speed, before changing teams in 2022 and getting his first GT500 class victory and going on to compete for the title until the last round. That year he also scored two 3rd-place podium finishes in Super Formula. In 2023, he was chosen as a driver trainee for the TGR WEC Challenge Program, enabling to go with the team to experience competing overseas, while also participating in Super Formula and the SUPER GT GT500 class and winning both championship titles to become the youngest double champion ever at the age of 24. In 2024, he is serving as reserve driver for the TGR WEC team, while also taking on the challenges of Formula 2 for the first time and competing in the European Le Mans Series.

    CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM

  • Team Founder Akio Toyoda
    Team Founder
    Chairman, Toyota Motor Corporation
    Akio Toyoda
  • President, Toyota Motor Corporation Koji Sato
    President, Toyota Motor Corporation
    Chairman, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe
    Koji Sato
  • Vice Chairman, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe Kazuki Nakajima
    Vice Chairman, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing EuropeKazuki Nakajima
  • Team Principal Kamui Kobayashi
    Team PrincipalKamui Kobayashi
  • President, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe Masato Hirai
    President, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing EuropeMasato Hirai
  • Team Director Rob Leupen
    Team DirectorRob Leupen
  • David Floury
    Technical DirectorDavid Floury
  • Tooru Kitamura
    Project Leader PowertrainTooru Kitamura
  • John Litjens
    Project Leader ChassisJohn Litjens
  • John Steeghs
    Team ManagerJohn Steeghs