Mike Conway and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Face Tough Weekend at São Paulo
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing arrived at the 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fifth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), determined to fight for a strong result despite a challenging qualifying session.
Mike Conway, alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, faced a difficult weekend at Interlagos. The trio qualified 18th on the grid, while team-mates Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa secured 10th in the #8 car.
Qualifying:
The day began with third practice, giving the drivers a chance to fine-tune the GR010 HYBRIDs in both qualifying and race configurations. Mike was at the wheel of the #7 during the 12-minute qualifying session. Despite his best efforts and experience — including a pole position at Interlagos last year — he was only able to set a lap time that put the car 18th on the grid. Ryo managed to take the #8 into Hyperpole, finishing 10th.
Mike Conway reflected on the qualifying:
"It was a pretty tough day. We didn’t have much to fight with, but we did everything possible. In the end, both cars were just running at the wrong end of the field unfortunately. Anyway, we will try to learn from this and find solutions before Austin, where we hope for a much better performance."
Race:
Sunday’s race was equally challenging. Despite strong team coordination, consistent driving, and clean pit stops, both GR010 HYBRIDs struggled for pace. The #7 car, driven by Mike, Kamui, and Nyck, ultimately finished 14th, while the #8 crew came home 15th.
During the race, Mike and his team worked hard to recover positions, making the most of tyre strategy and managing to set their fastest laps at mid-distance. However, the performance gap proved too large to break into the top 10.
"It has been a tough race, and we weren’t able to fight at the front as we hoped. But we’ll take what we’ve learned and come back stronger in Austin," Mike added.
Looking Ahead:
The WEC summer break now offers TOYOTA GAZOO Racing an opportunity to analyse the challenges faced at São Paulo and prepare for the sixth round at the Circuit of the Americas, Lone Star Le Mans, on 7 September. Mike and the team are committed to returning stronger and challenging for points and podiums in the next race.
