Mike Conway and his TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned important FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) points after an exciting battle at the front of a closely-fought 6 Hours of Imola, last weekend.

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa benefited from a bold strategy and inch-perfect driving to finish fifth in their #8 GR010 HYBRID. A similarly determined effort from Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries earned seventh for the #7 GR010 HYBRID.

Different tyre strategies and the threat of rain meant drivers and engineers relied on all their experience to execute an effective race plan.  A close on-track fight meant every second counted in the pits and both crews performed faultlessly through a combined 13 stops to give their drivers the best possible chance.

That united team effort in challenging circumstances helps TOYOTA GAZOO Racing contributes to its chase for both titles. It is third in the manufacturers’ standings, 39 behind leaders Ferrari. The #8 crew are sixth in the drivers’ championship with their #7 colleagues seventh, 25 and 32 points respectively from the leaders.

The race started with the #7 and #8 in fifth and fourth respectively. Mike and Brendon swapped places twice in the opening stint as they challenged for the podium positions. Early in the first stint, they were already lapping LMGT3 cars, requiring alert and disciplined driving on the narrow track whilst still racing flat-out.

Late in the second hour, the team’s race took a dramatic turn when the #20 BMW bounced over the Variante Alta chicane and hit the #7. A full course yellow to clear debris saw both GR010 HYBRIDs pit for a driver change. Nyck resumed in a slightly damaged #7 and Ryo took over the #8, which then received a drive-through penalty for speeding during the full course yellow.

When the next fuel stops were completed at half distance, Nyck was running in the top six with Ryo now battling to break into the top 10. The eight Hypercar manufacturers adopted differing tyre strategies, meaning engineers and drivers needed to update their approach on a lap-by-lap basis to react to conditions.

A safety car late in the fourth hour saw Kamui and Sébastien take the wheel of their respective cars, now with two new medium compound right-side tyres but much older softs on the left side. He brought the #8 back on track in ninth although he was less than 10secs away from the race leader.

That set-up a two-hour shoot-out for Hypercar honours, with light rain creating even more tension. Sébastien pitted for fuel just 20 minutes later in a bold strategic move to give him a clear track and allow faster lap times than those possible within a close Hypercar battle.

Kamui stalked the second-placed #6 Porsche throughout his stint before a brave overtake shortly before his penultimate pitstop. Meanwhile, Sébastien’s alternative strategy helped the #8 lead into the final hour as the rivals ahead pitted, although he needed to defend heroically from the #50 Ferrari to hold that position.

After his final fuel stops, Sébastien kept his advantage over the #50 and the battle finally ended when the Ferrari hit the #8 and suffered a puncture. Both Sébastien and Kamui carefully nursed their old tyres through the last stint, with Sébastien even passing the #15 BMW with less than 10 minutes to go.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s challenge for both World Championships and its preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours now step up a gear for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday 10 May, the final race before the team goes into battle for a sixth win at La Sarthe.

Speaking after the weekend, Conway said: “It looked like we were in a good position for a podium at one stage, but it got away from us in the last hour or so. That’s a pity because everyone worked really hard to get into a decent position.

“The contact certainly didn’t help because that cost us some time. Unfortunately the BMW tried to make two cars go into the space for one. Things didn’t go for us this weekend when it felt like we were on for a better result but we’ll keep pushing.”