Toyota will go into the 2025 World Endurance Championship with an unchanged driver line-up.
The Japanese car maker’s #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar will driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries for a second consecutive season, while in #8 Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa stay together for a fourth season.
Kobayashi, who also acts as team principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC squad, stressed the importance of what he described as “a consistent line-up of drivers who understand how to work together”.
“We have a top driver line-up in both cars, and I am happy to be part of it again in 2025,” he said.
“The team spirit and co-operation among all the drivers, and the team in general, grows with every race and every season.”
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
He added that Toyota has enjoyed “some good results this year”, a reference to its three race wins and victory in the Hypercar manufacturers’ championship, but that “as a team we continuously push ourselves to perform even better at every event”.
De Vries labelled his 2024 campaign with Toyota as “a good first season».
“We have had ups and downs but generally it has been a great experience,” he said.
“I am looking forward to being part of this team in 2025, it is a true pleasure and honour.”
The Dutch driver belatedly joined Toyota in place of Jose Maria Lopez at the start of this year having originally been slated to race the #7 car in 2023 prior to his short stint in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri.
Conway will be undertaking his 10th season as a full-time member of the Toyota WEC squad, while Buemi maintains an unbroken run with the team that stretches back to its return to top-flight sportscar racing on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012.
Toyota’s announcement of its driver line-up for its 2025 attack on the Hypercar class on Wednesday made no reference to Ritomo Miyata, who filled the test and reserve role this year.
The Japanese driver was overlooked for the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC blue riband in June when Conway was unable to compete as a result of injuries sustained in a cycling accident.
Toyota instead brought Lopez back to fill the seat alongside Kobayashi and de Vries.