--- title: "Toyota Takes Fourth Consecutive Win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans" description: "The Toyota Gazoo Racing team won overall at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, marking the team's fourth overall victory in a row." date: "2022-06-12" modified: "2022-06-12" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/toyota-takes-fourth-consecutive-win-at-the-24-hours-of-le-mans" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Racing" - "Toyota News" - "WEC" tags: - "Toyota" --- # Toyota Takes Fourth Consecutive Win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ![]() *(From L) Drivers of the Toyota number 8 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar Swiss Sebastien Buemi, Japanese Ryo Hirakawa and New Zealand Brendon Hartley celebrate after winning at the end of the 90th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, in Le Mans, north-western France, on June 12, 2022. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images)* A spectacular helicopter stunt kicked off the 2022 [24 Hours of Le Mans](), on Saturday, June 11, as a military helicopter circled the stands. Two soldiers then ziplined down to the pre-race ceremony, to deliver the French flag, marking an emotional return to a full crowd at Le Mans, following last year's limited crowd due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a stunt that not only wowed fans but also set the tone for an exciting 24 hours that would end with the [Toyota Gazoo Racing]() team taking first place overall, with its number 8 GR010 car, and its fifth consecutive win at Le Mans. The Toyota GR team battled teams Glickenhaus and Alpine in the Hypercar class but it really wasn't much of a competition, as Toyota was barely challenged by either Hypercar team. In the end, only Toyota and Glickenhaus would make the hypercar podium, with Toyota taking both first and second place, and Glickenhaus taking third. The latter of which marks the first time an American-designed car reached the podium at Le Mans since the Ford GT won overall in 1969. ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 12: The #08 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa in action at sunrise at the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on June 12, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by James Moy Photography/Getty Images)* ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 12: The #08 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa in action at sunrise at the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on June 12, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by James Moy Photography/Getty Images)* ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 12: Mike Conway of Great Britain and Toyota Gazoo Racing in action at sunrise at the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on June 12, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by James Moy Photography/Getty Images)* Toyota's win also marks the fourth Le Mans win for Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi, the third win for New Zealand driver Brandon Hartley, and the first for Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa. In the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) class, team Jota took an early lead and cruised to a class victory, with the number 38 ORECA-Gibson 07 car being driven Antonio Felix da Costa, Roberto Gonzalez, and Will Stevens. Jota also took third place in the LMP2 class, with the number 28 car, driven by Ed Jones, Jonathan Aberdeinn, and Oliver Rasmussen. In the LM GTE Pro class, tragedy struck the Corvette Racing team, as both cars failed to finish the race, after comfortably leading their class. The number 63 Corvette had its left rear suspension fail dramatically, causing it to retire. Then, later on in the race, the number 64 Corvette, driven by Alexander Sims at the time, was clipped by Francois Perrodo in his LMP2 car, sending Sim's Corvette into the barrier and retiring the car from the race. ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 11: The #64 Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Tommy Milner, Alexander Sims, and Nick Tandy in action at the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on June 11, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by James Moy Photography/Getty Images)* ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 12: The #93 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR - 19 of Michael Fassbender, Matt Campbell, and Zacharie Robichon drives during the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe on June 12, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images)* ![]() *LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 11: The #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Sebastian Priaulx, and Harry Tincknell in action at the Le Mans 24 Hours Race on June 11, 2022 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by James Moy Photography/Getty Images)* Following the hit, Perrodo felt so horribly about clipping Sims' Corvette, especially considering they were racing in different classes, that he immediately made his way to the Corvette team's paddock to apologize in person. "I am sorry, guys. There are no words," said Perrodo, according to *[Eurosport]()*. The Corvette team was reportedly was thankful for Perrodo's apology and it was said to be a touching moment between both teams. Due to both Corvettes retiring from the race, the number 91 Porsche 911 RSR 19, from the Porsche GT Team, took the last-ever GTE Pro class win. Two Ferrari 488 GTE Evos, the number 51 and 52 cars, took second and third place, respectively, for the AF Corse team. There was a celebrity-driver appearance in the LM GTE AM class, as actor Michael Fassbender raced for the Proton Competition team, in a Porsche 911 RSR 19. However, Fassbender's team wouldn't reach the podium in the GTE AM class. Instead, the number 33 Aston Martin Vantage AMR would win the GTE AM class for team TF Sport. ![]() *(From L) Drivers of the Toyota number 8 GR010 Hybrid Hypercar Swiss Sebastien Buemi, Japanese Ryo Hirakawa and New Zealand Brendon Hartley celebrate after winning at the end of the 90th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, in Le Mans, north-western France, on June 12, 2022. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images)* The story of the day, though, was of the Toyota's dominance. The Gazoo Racing cars were barely challenged by even their Hypercar class rivals. Naysayers will complain about the lack of real competition, with only two other teams in the Hypercar class, however, few critics argued Audi's dominant run at Le Mans despite its own lack of competition years ago. Toyota has been on a roll at Le Mans, winning overall for the past four years, and both its engineers and drivers deserves immense credit for their continued success. ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()