Skip to content
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid has claimed the top step of the podium at this weekend’s 1000 miles of Sebring, the first round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
The #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, shared by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López, triumphed after a race-long duel with the #8 sister car. The Japanese brand’s two hypercars swapped the lead several times, but the #8 was unable to keep up the pace and was 2.1 seconds off the checkered flag. Aware that it faced stiff competition at the Sebring 1000, Toyota managed to start the season in an impressive manner both in the pit lane and on the track.
Kamui Kobayashi: “It’s a fantastic feeling to win this race and I want to thank everyone for their great support, especially everyone in Japan, including Toyoda-san and President Sato-san. The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family worked really hard to be ready “We had a tough time yesterday but we came back strong and in the race we proved our philosophy of being a team where everyone works very hard together. A A double win was the best result we could have hoped for, but.” This is just the beginning of a big fight this season. We deserved to win, but we don’t underestimate the other manufacturers. Today our experience helped us, but we will face a big challenge this season, so we have to get stronger and fight even harder. This championship is going to be really exciting and I am happy to be a part of it.”
Toyota finally took the wheel of the race from Ferrari AF Corse on lap five, with pole-sitter #50 499P completing the podium two laps behind the winners. The Ferrari Hypercars lost time in traffic, the #51 was held up long in the pit lane while refueling and the #50 was penalized with a drive-through and a five-second penalty for overtaking under Safety Car regulations and violating a Full Course Yellow . Despite the setbacks, the Ferrari camp seemed happy with their results and in particular with the reliability of the two 499Ps.
Antonello Coletta, Head of Attività Sportive GT: “We exceeded the targets we set ourselves as we wanted a podium finish and added a great pole position. We are happy and at the same time aware that we still have a long way to go. In the championship we’re up against some very experienced and fast opponents and others who have just entered the hypercar scene like us but just as fast. We celebrate these results and thank the whole team for the work done over the last eight months which has allowed us to race at a demanding track like Sebring without any reliability issues.”
The #4 Cadillac V-Series.R of Cadillac Racing finished the race in fourth place ahead of the #5 and #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s. Peugeot TotalEnergies had several mechanical issues with the #94 9X8, which was stuck in its garage for three hours to troubleshoot a fault in its hybrid system. The hypercar of the American team Glickenhaus Racing had to retire before the middle of the race due to mechanical problems. The Floyd Vanwall Racing Team’s #4 Vanwall Vandervell 680 finished 30th.
A stunning finish in LMP2
Before moving to the Hypercar class with a private 963, Hertz Team JOTA triumphed in the LMP2 class after a stunning finish to the race. The David Beckmann/Yifei Ye/Will Stevens car pulled off a perfect splash and dash to snatch victory from the #63 Prema of Doriane Pin/Mirko Bortolotti/Daniil Kvyat. The LMP2 was forced to pull out with almost three minutes remaining in the race, with Prema finishing third on the heels of the number 22 United Autosports.
At LMGTE Am, the only Corvette C8.R on the track completed a flawless lap. The #33 Corvette Racing, shared by Ben Keating, Nicolas Varrone and Nicky Catsburg, beat the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 by two laps. The #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari completed the podium in class.
The second round of the 2023 FIA WEC season takes place on April 16 in Portimão, Portugal.
Check out this photo gallery of highlights from the Sebring 1000: