Jose Maria Lopez – Syndication Server

De Vries gets full-season Hypercar seat as Lopez transitions to Lexus GT3 program

Toyota Gazoo Racing has revealed a revise driver lineup for its 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar program. Nyck de Vries returns to the team to take a spot in the No. 7 GR010 HYBRID alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi in the seat …

Lopez, who had been a part of the team since 2017, will move across to the AKKODIS ASP Lexus RC F GT3 effort next season for the debut of the LMGT3 category. Lopez departs the team after a highly-successful stint with Conway and Kobayashi, winning 15 WEC races (including the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans) and claiming two World Endurance Drivers’ Championships in 2019-20 and 2021.

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De Vries, meanwhile, slots into the Hypercar lineup after his partial-season campaign in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri this year.

The Dutchman is no stranger to the FIA WEC, having competed on and off in LMP2 between 2018 and 2021 for Racing Team Nederland and G-Drive Racing. He also filled the role of test and reserve driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the past.

“I am super excited to be returning to endurance racing, especially with Toyota Gazoo Racing,” said De Vries. “Endurance racing is something that I have always enjoyed and it is a discipline with incredible momentum at the moment. I was with the team in a different role for a few years but never got the chance to race, so it is great that the time has now arrived, and I want to thank the team for their continuous support and faith in me.

“I am very much looking forward to sharing car No. 7 with both Mike and Kamui. They are both very talented drivers who achieved a lot, and I am sure we will make a great team.”

Kobayashi, who acts as team principal as well as a driver at TGR in the WEC, thanked Lopez for his efforts behind the wheel with Toyota in the FIA WEC.

“In motorsport, things are constantly evolving and it’s the same with driver line-ups. On car No. 7, Mike, Jose and me drove together since 2017, which is a really long time in any category. We enjoyed some amazing moments together, but also some tough times, particularly at Le Mans. I would like to thank Jose for his massive contribution, as a driver and a teammate. He will always be a part of our Toyota Gazoo Racing family,” Kobayashi, who acts as team principal as well as a driver at TGR in the WEC.

“At the same time, it is exciting to welcome Nyck back to the team as part of the No. 7 crew. We know from his time as our test and reserve driver, plus his other racing, how quick and consistent he is. Next season again we have a top driver line-up in both cars, and this will be important when we face even more competitors in Hypercar. I am sure we will grow stronger together as a team over the winter, ready for the new challenge.”

The No. 8 GR010 HYBRID’s line-up remains unchanged, with Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa returning as a trio in pursuit of their third consecutive World Endurance Drivers’ Championships and second Le Mans victory together.

“I’m delighted to continue with Sebastien and Brendon in the No. 8 car,” remarked Hirakawa, who will fill the role of McLaren F1 reserve driver in 2024 alongside his Hypercar commitments.

“This will be my third season in the team, and my third driving alongside them in the No. 8, and so far it has been a very special experience. We won the drivers’ championship two years in a row, and won Le Mans in 2022, and I am sure there is more to come. Next season will be even more challenging than ever but I am really looking forward to fighting to defend our title and aim for victory at Le Mans.”

Toyota ‘showed what we can do, but we remain humble’ – Lopez

Toyota’s dominant 1-2 finish in the season-opening Sebring 1000 Miles showed the rest of the FIA WEC Hypercar field what Toyota is capable of, race winner Jose Maria Lopez told RACER after Friday’s eight-hour event. The Japanese team controlled the …

The Japanese team controlled the race almost from start to finish, with both its GR010 HYBRIDs finishing two laps ahead of the other teams in the Hypercar class. The flawless run has silenced anyone who doubted the team’s ability or the GR010 as a platform, after spending multiple seasons competing against smaller team’s since Porsche’s exit from LMP1 in 2017.

Lopez, who along with Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, led home the 1-2 finish, told RACER that the team wasn’t surprised that AF Corse’s Ferrari 499P was capable of setting pole, after gradually finding pace throughout the Prologue test and free practice sessions. However, he also said the team, which has a decade of WEC top-class experience, believed it was still the favorite, racing against a field packed with new cars from the likes of Porsche, Cadillac and Ferrari.

“Ferrari taking pole was hard to take, but we knew it would be like this with more competitors,” he explained. “I wasn’t surprised with the pole. They showed they had pace; we knew they’d be capable of that. It was a punch, but we didn’t give up because we knew we had a good car for the race. We have lots of experience too in the WEC. Today the gap doesn’t reflect the real gap to Ferrari, we just made no mistakes and were good in the pits, and had a good strategy.

“At the end of the day, in recent years we’ve had tough competition from within our own team. We have ended up fighting the No. 8 for 24 hours and ended with a couple of seconds between us. The pressure is always high here. We have always worked to improve.

“We know it will be a difficult year. Peugeot, Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac are going to work. We showed what we can do, but we remain humble.”

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The improvements made to the GR010 HYBRID for 2023 also played a significant part in the team’s ability to pull away from the field, Lopez said. For 2023 the GR010 HYBRID is lighter and benefits from a more aggressive aero package and cooling system.

“The car in race conditions is definitely a step forward. Last year our best time was a (1m49.2s); this year we found around 5s. The job the team has done is amazing. Of course, it’s still not easy here because of the bumps, changes in grip, and traffic. It’s one of the most difficult of the year, but I am so proud.”

On a personal level, Lopez’s performance during the race was also significant. During last year’s opener, a mistake from the Argentinian driver cost the No. 7 crew a chance at victory when he wrote the car off in spectacular fashion 111 laps into the race. An error in judgment led to a high-speed, head-on collision with the tire barriers at Turn 11. At the time he was heavily criticized for driving too fast with bodywork rubbing against the front tires following contact earlier in the lap.

This year was an entirely different story. Winning the race, with a faultless performance, has given him a huge confidence boost to start the season and puts him in early contention to win the 2023 world championship.

“Especially after last year, this is great,” he admitted. “I’ve never had it easy here. You need to turn the page and do the job. The most important thing to me is that the team has my back. I have great teammates as well, and I managed to put in good stints and get the victory.”

Lopez, Toyota lead first WEC Prologue session at Sebring

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010 HYBRIDs led the way in the first of four FIA WEC Prologue test sessions at a sunny and hot Sebring. The highly-experienced Japanese factory team, which has the most tried and tested car in the new-look Hypercar class, set …

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010 HYBRIDs led the way in the first of four FIA WEC Prologue test sessions at a sunny and hot Sebring.

The highly-experienced Japanese factory team, which has the most tried and tested car in the new-look Hypercar class, set the pace as the WEC’s class of 2023 shared a track together for the first time.

Jose Maria Lopez was the quickest of the Toyotas, setting a 1m48.208s in the No. 7, marginally faster than the sister No. 8 which also ended up in the 1:48.2s. The cars completed 70 and 64 laps respectively.

The Cadillac Racing V-Series.R trailed the two Toyotas, piloted by Richard Westbrook, with a best time of 1m49.253s, having completed 44 laps.

Completing the top five in the running order was the No. 5 Porsche 963 at 1m49.650s and the No. 51 Ferrari 499P which toured the airfield circuit in 1m49.724s. Both cars completed an encouraging 60-plus laps.

Lower down the order, the pair of Peugeots both set times 2s off the ultimate pace, while the Glickenhaus and Vanwall were — perhaps unsurprisingly — the slowest in the category, mixed in amongst the LMP2s on ultimate pace.

The Vanwall Vandervell’s best time was a 1m52.410s, 4s off the pace. Notably, 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villenueve — in his first WEC session with limited time spent in the Vanwall prior to this weekend — could only manage a 1m59.272s, making him the slowest driver in the class and only marginally quicker than the best GTE Am times.

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In LMP2, United Autosports’ No. 22 ORECA made a fast start to the season. Phil Hanson set the best time in the all-ORECA field — a 1m51.722s. Behind, the only other car setting a time under the 1m52s was the No. 41 WRT ORECA.

Hertz Team JOTA’s No. 48 completed the top three, with a time good enough to finish higher up the order than the Glickenhaus and Vanwall.

GTE Am, meanwhile, saw the Iron Dames Porsche lead the way. Michelle Gatting emerged fastest with a 1m59.913s; the top three all managing times under two minutes. The sister Iron Lynx Porsche ended up second, driven by Alessio Picariello. The fastest Ferrari completed the top three thanks to a quick time from former AF Corse GTE Pro regular Davide Rigon.

Of the other two brands in the class, Corvette’s C8.R ended up fifth with the three Aston Martin Vantage AMRs occupying the bottom three positions in the class.

Northwest AMR’s No. 98 Aston Martin — the only car in the field without a complete driver line-up — was driven by Axel Jeffries in the session. The Zimbabwean driver is testing for the team as they evaluate whether he or Thomas Merrill will take the third seat alongside Paul Dalla Lana and Nicki Thiim. Jeffries’ best time was just a tenth off Thiim’s quickest lap. Merrill is set to drive the car tomorrow.

Merrill wasn’t the only driver here for the Prologue who didn’t take part in the session. Five Hypercar drivers didn’t head out of the pit lane: Alex Lynn, Esteban Guerrieri, Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

Stefano Costantini also didn’t get behind the wheel of the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari.

During the session, race control opted to trial a number of procedures including a safety car period and red flag stoppage. Beyond a handful of minor offs, there were no major dramas.

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