Toyota/Michelin's win in Sao Paulo
print mail share
close
placeholder-image
west All articles
print mail share
close

Toyota/Michelin's win in Sao Paulo

14/07/2024

Victory for the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid (Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa) at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo – Round 5 of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship – earned Michelin's 90th success in the series since the latter's creation in 2012. Second and third places were claimed by the #6 (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) and #5 (Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki) Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s.

 

- The early part of the race was dominated by the Toyota GR010 Hybrids which both qualified on the front row of Sunday's grid. The #7 prototype lost ground with a technical problem during its second pit stop, but its sister car (#8) went on to secure its first win of the campaign.

- The #6 Porsche was delayed by an early collision but fought back to second at the flag. Third was Penske's similar #5 car which continues to top the provisional standings.

- Toyota's win was Michelin's 90th from the 90 FIA WEC rounds organized since 2012. That year, Toyota and Michelin scored their first win in the championship together at Sao Paulo.

- The Hypercars ran different tire strategies, with some fitting medium- or hard-compound MICHELIN Pilot Sport slicks on all four wheels, while others combined mediums on the left with hards on the right. It was the current MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance range's first visit to Interlagos where both compounds successfully double-stinted.

- A post-race penalty for the #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche handed fourth place to the #7 Toyota. The #51 and #50 Ferrari 499Ps – which were both running technical evolutions – crossed the line in fifth and sixth positions.

- There were strong performances from the Peugeot 9X8s, BMW M V8 Hybrids and Alpine A424s as they battled for the other top-10 places.

- The FIA WEC's return to Interlagos after a 10-year absence attracted 73,205 spectators who were treated to a highly entertaining race.

- The 2024 FIA WEC's next port-of-call is the Lone Star Le Mans at Austin, Texas, USA, on September 1.