After 16 hours of track action, a combined 425 laps and 5,791km of intense preparation at La Sarthe – in the official test, four free practice sessions, qualifying and Hyperpole – TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is ready to take on the 62-car grid and challenge for its sixth Le Mans victory, in front of a sell-out 320,000 crowd.

Despite a strong lap from Brendon Hartley to reach Thursday’s pole position shoot-out, Hyperpole ended in disappointment due to a puncture for Sébastien Buemi which leaves the #8 GR010 HYBRID they share with Ryo Hirakawa 10th on the grid. After qualifying frustration on Wednesday, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries will line up in 16th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID when the race begins at 4pm on Saturday.

The final day of practice featured two free practice sessions alongside Hyperpole, which determined the starting positions for the top 15 Hypercars. For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the focus was firmly on optimising the GR010 HYBRIDs in race trim, to maximise its chances of a fighting for victory.

Third practice started on a warm, dry afternoon, providing ideal conditions for tyre comparisons. With a 24-hour race ahead, getting the maximum from the tyres is a key factor so the #8 car tried different Michelin compounds, while the #7 analysed mechanical set-ups during the three-hour session. A red flag midway through cost 15 minutes of an otherwise trouble-free and productive session for the team.

At 9.05pm, 15 Hypercars – including the #8 GR010 HYBRID – contested Hyperpole 1 for the 10 places in Hyperpole 2, which decided the leading grid positions. On new medium tyres, Brendon set the best time so far for a GR010 HYBRID at Le Mans with his final lap and progressed in sixth. A new format requires a different driver to take part in each Hyperpole session, so Sébastien took over for Hyperpole 2. However, he suffered a trip through the gravel at Mulsanne corner and was forced to return slowly to the pits with a puncture as time slipped away, leaving him no chance of another flying lap.

The final hour of practice took place in darkness from 11pm and provided a final opportunity to fine-tune the cars, as well as their LED headlights in night conditions, and the team completed a trouble-free hour. The next time the cars hit the track will be for a short warm-up at midday on Saturday, prior to the race start at 4pm.

Although there is no track activity for the Hypercars on Friday, the team and drivers have a packed schedule of preparing and checking the cars, defining race strategies and practicing procedures. In addition, when both car crews will meet the fans riding in hydrogen fuel cell Hilux Prototype pick-ups during the traditional drivers parade in the city centre on Friday afternoon.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7):

“Thanks to the team for their big effort to reach this stage in our Le Mans week. We have done a lot of laps again with no problems on either car which is a positive sign. Everyone has pushed very hard to extract more performance from the car and we have made some improvements. I don’t think we are the fastest, but we showed already this season that when we execute a perfect race and keep fighting, we can make up places. I’m looking forward to the race; it should be exciting.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7):

“We tried to maximise our learning in the last two free practice sessions, and we focused on race performance. We were trying things right until the last lap in fourth practice at midnight. We got through a lot of work and made another step to improve the car for the race, and I feel like we’re pretty strong in the night conditions. But some of the other cars look very quick, so we will have our work cut out for us at different times during the race.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7):

“I think generally these two sessions were a bit more positive than Wednesday, and we could focus exclusively on improving the car for the race. We have had a challenging week so far, but I think we are heading in the right direction. Obviously now we are done with practice, so we need to analyse everything on Friday and get as much sleep as possible before the excitement starts.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8):

“Brendon did a great job to get the car into Hyperpole 2 but unfortunately we couldn’t set any laps. I locked the tyres into Mulsanne corner and ended up with a puncture, so I am disappointed with that. But we knew it would be difficult due to my very limited preparation in qualifying trim. Now we know we start 10th, which is not too bad considering the pace we had in qualifying on Wednesday. We have focused on getting the most out of the car for the race, that was our big priority this week.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8):

“I was really happy with my lap in Hyperpole 1; it felt great. It always puts a smile on my face to drive flat-out round here, maximum attack with low fuel and new tyres. The car felt okay, and I feel like I got the most of performance out of it. We didn’t have ultimate performance over one lap which, in a way, is a result of our strategy because we have focused on race pace. Free practice has been encouraging in terms of race pace so we will focus on maximising our package for the weekend now.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):

“We have done all our on-track preparation, and we are ready for the race. Friday is our last chance to check the cars, and work on our race set-ups and strategies. I think it’s going to be a challenging race, but we fight together as a team, and we are strong. Starting 10th is a little bit riskier on the first lap but it’s a long race and in the end, it doesn’t make a big difference to start there or a few places higher. It’s more important to be in the best possible shape for the race and this has been our focus all week. We have done a good job, and I think we can fight for victory; let’s go for it.”