The 2022 season FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Round 4 Monza 6-hour final race was held at the Monza Circuit in Italy on Sunday, July 10, and the two GR010 HYBRIDs of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (Toyota) Car 8 came in 2nd, close to the lead, and Car 7 came in 3rd, taking the podium in a double.
This tournament, which was held at the traditional Monza circuit called the “Hall of Fame”, which celebrated its 100th anniversary, was a turbulent race with many accidents.
In the hypercar class, a new manufacturer is welcomed and a fierce battle is developed. Toyota’s two GR010 HYBRIDs fought for the lead until the end, but unfortunately they did not reach the victory.
Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa’s GR010 HYBRID No. 8 caught up in the early stages of the race despite technical troubles, and Hirakawa won the championship at the end. It approached Alpine No. 36 in just 2.762 seconds, but unfortunately it did not turn around and finished in 2nd place.
Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Jose Maria Lopez, who won last year’s Monza, lost time due to contact with Alpine in the middle of the race when running in the lead, and were checked in 3rd place, two laps behind. In a survival race where many accidents occurred and rivals left the battlefield due to troubles, the two Toyota cars that steadily ran to the end won the podium in double.
For the first time this season, four manufacturers were competing for this tournament, but Toyota was the leader in the manufacturer’s point ranking by 15 points, and car No. 8 was the leader in driver’s point, Alpine No. 36. Car 7 is in 2nd place with a 10-point difference and 3rd place with a 30-point difference, and will challenge to win the title of the reversal in the remaining 2 races.
The two GR010 HYBRIDs fought a close battle between their teammates from the beginning. After a clean start, Car 8 Buemi, who started in 2nd place, kept the 2nd place by suppressing the pressure from Alpine behind, and Car 7 Lopez, who started in 4th place, followed Alpine by a small margin. ..
Two full-course yellows were issued within 30 minutes of the start, and during this time all Hypercar class vehicles made a pit stop to refuel. With an accurate strategy, Toyota raised the position of car 7 to 3rd place, and the two GR010 HYBRIDs were in 2-3rd place, but the difference with Grickenhouse, which escaped from the lead, was widening.
One hour after the start, Buemi’s car No. 8 suffered an electrical problem and slowed down. I dropped my position to 4th place. Car 8 restarted the system at the next pit stop and returned to the race in 5th place with a time loss of about 30 seconds. After that, Buemi regained his pace and passed the Peugeot No. 94 in front of him to move up to 4th place. Around two hours, the third full-course yellow was issued on this day, and each car pitted. Car 7 changed drivers to Conway and fought for second place with Alpine. Car 8 was steered by Hartley.
A safety car was introduced due to an accident of a GT class vehicle that occurred two and a half hours after the start, and the race moved significantly. All Hypercar-class cars headed to the pits, where Conway’s No. 7 car, helped by quick pit work, evaded the Grickenhouse and took the lead. The safety car moved out and the full-scale race resumed after 3 hours, which was the turnaround of the race. Grickenhouse, who was running in 2nd place, received a drive-through penalty due to overspeed during the full course yellow, so Hartley of car 8 evaded this and moved to 2nd place. Hartley continued to be chased by Alpine, but remained in second place until the next pit stop.
Two Toyota cars and Alpine, these three hypercars each entered the last two hours with a close margin of a few seconds. Since the timing of tire replacement is different, the ranking will change at each pit stop.
When the remaining 1 hour was approaching, Kobayashi’s driving car No. 7 was followed by Hirakawa’s car No. 8, and Toyota’s 1-2 system was held over Alpine in 3rd place, but the tire replacement timing was different. Then, Alpine with new tires attacked Hirakawa’s No. 8 car violently, and Hirakawa continued to outperform this with excellent driving, but was unfortunately overtaken on lap 153 and retreated to 3rd place. The following lap, an accident occurred in which Kobayashi’s No. 7 car, which escaped from the lead, and Alpine, who was chasing in 2nd place, came into contact on the course straight.
Car 7 suffered a flat tire on the right rear tire and damage to the rear right of the car body, and Kobayashi returned to the pit for repair while slowing down. Since the full course yellow was issued, car 7 had only one lap time loss and returned to the course in 3rd place. When the race resumed with one hour left, Hirakawa’s No. 8 car, which had passed Car No. 7 and moved up to 2nd place, started a fierce catch-up.
Hirakawa narrowed the gap with Alpine, the leader, while avoiding the lap-delayed vehicle with excellent driving, and continued to put pressure on until the end, but it was less than about 3 seconds and he was the checker in 2nd place. Kobayashi’s No. 7 car was penalized with a 90-second pit stop due to contact, and finished in 3rd place with a delay of 2 laps.
WEC, which entered the second half of the season, also has two races left after the Monza tournament. The next race will be the 6 Hours of Fuji, which has been held since 2019, and the team has won 7 wins in the 8 Hours of Fuji. Fuji, the home race that will be held on September 11th (Sunday), aims for further victory before enthusiastic fans watch over.
Kamui Kobayashi (Team Representative and Driver No. 7):
I tried my best to win the championship, but I missed the opportunity. Today, both of them were doing their best to get the podium. In my stint, I struggled a little at the running pace. As a result of adopting a strategy of not changing tires at the pit stop in order to protect the position, I was able to maintain the position as I aimed, but the pace after that slowed down. Then, he came into contact with Alpine, suffered damage to the vehicle, was delayed by one lap, and was penalized, but as a result, I think that the final race result was not significantly affected. I didn’t have a satisfying race today, so I need to work harder for the next race. In order to win both the Driver’s and Manufacturers titles, we must definitely win the next round at Fuji. The battle between hypercars has intensified at WEC, and I think the race will continue to be challenging, but it is great for fans and we are enjoying this battle as well. Both of us still have a chance to win the title and will never give up.
Mike Conway (Car 7 driver):
It was an incomplete combustion race for Car 7, and unfortunately it was a step back in the title battle. We were leading the race, but in a few laps we lost everything. I felt that I could win if I had luck, but the tire strategy was the key to the race. Although we have dropped out of the battle for victory due to contact, the podium in 3rd place is the best result for us today. We need to learn more from this result and continue to work hard until the end of the season.
Jose Maria Lopez (Car 7 driver):
Given this tough race week, the final 2nd and 3rd place results are not bad for the team. Unfortunately, we suffered damage from contact, delayed laps, and suffered a penalty. At that point our race was over, but until then it was an exciting race, competing for the championship, but it didn’t go as planned. I think the remaining two races of this season will be as fierce as they are today, but we have to win the close race. In the next round, Fuji, I will regain my strength and do my best to win.
Sebastien Buemi (Car 8 driver):
It was a race where there were various things in each of the two cars. It’s a little disappointing that I missed it by a small margin because I had a chance to win. In the trouble that occurred at the beginning of the race, I tried my best to minimize the time loss, but the car did not run normally and it was not easy. With the introduction of the safety car, we were able to close the gap with the leader, and we had another chance. It was good that Brendon and Ryo showed a wonderful run and were able to hunt down Alpine at the end.
Brendon Hartley (Car 8 driver):
I think we had a very good race, but it’s still a bit disappointing to miss the victory by a few seconds in the 6-hour race. Cebu had trouble early in the race, but he managed to save a lot of time. We, the three drivers of Car 8, ran at a good pace throughout the race, and the engineers and mechanics did a great job. Alpine today was fast. We weren’t too bad, but not slightly. I would like to commend them for this close battle. In the next round, Fuji, I would like to become stronger and come back.
Ryo Hirakawa (Car 8 driver):
I tried my best to win the game in a come-from-behind victory, but I was a little disappointed with the result of 2nd place. The team dealt well with Cebu’s troubles and stayed close to the top, and was able to return to the lead in the safety car after that. It’s a shame that I couldn’t make a comeback even though I had been chasing the leader Alpine by a small margin. There are only two races left in the season, and the next race, Fuji, is my home race. In order to win the championship, it is necessary to finish before the remaining two races Alpine, and the goal is clear. Continue pushing to return to the center of the podium.
WEC Round 4 Monza 6 Hours Final Results (Overall Ranking)
Category: Category: F1 / Toyota / WEC (FIA World Endurance Championship)