Massive endurance weekend ahead for Toyota graduates

13 June 2025  /   Event

DReam team Le mans 25 (940. x450)

It’s endurance racing’s biggest weekend of the year and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ will be well-represented by its alumni with no fewer than 13 former drivers from our NZ championships taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend.

Celebrating 40 years of Toyota, the official TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team has had a frustrating qualifying, but tit will still be all to play for over the 24 grueling hours of the race around the legendary le Sarthe circuit. 

Despite a strong lap from Toyota Racing Series graduate Brendon Hartley (ppictured above with Sébastien Buemi) to reach Thursday’s pole position shoot-out, Hyperpole ended in disappointment due to a puncture for Sébastien Buemi which leaves the #8 GR010 HYBRID they share with Ryo Hirakawa 10th on the grid. After qualifying frustration on Wednesday, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries will line up in 17th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID when the race begins at 4pm on Saturday.

Elsewhere in the Hypercar class, another TRS graduate, and like Hartley another former winner of the big race, Earl Bamber has had a better time of qualifying aboard the Cadillac, taking second on the grid. His team mate Alex Lynn went even better, putting the sister Caddy on an historic pole position.

Rafaele Marciello starts from fourth on the grid and could be a dark horse for honours alongside Dries Vanthoor and Kevin Magnussen in their BMW. Ferdinand Hapsburg has teamed up with another TRS graduate in Charles Milesi aboard the number one Alpine and with their team mate Paul-Loup Chatin they will start 12th.

Clement Novalak, Ryan Cullen,  and Jean Baptiste Simmenauer are all competing in LMP2 this year and Clement’s weekend is off to a fine start with pole position in LMP2 in his TDS Racing Oreca Gibson. Cullen’s crew start eighth on the LMP2 grid, Simmenauer’s 16th.

Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood are the top two NZ graduates in LMGT3, qualifying their Corvette sixth on the grid while Dennis Olsen will start 10th in his Proton Competition Mustang GT3, just one place ahead of United Autosport’s Gregoire Saucy in his McLaren 720s.

It’s a massive weekend ahead for the drivers and we wish them all the best of success! We will, of course, save our loudest cheers for all of our boys in Hypercar!