Yesterday, the Japanese driver stood out at the wheel of his #7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID at Test Day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 17-18) by clocking the best time of 3'18.132. Here he talks about how the track was dominated by Toyota whose cars snatched the top three spots.

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Series

24 Heures du Mans

FIA WEC

The injured Michelle Gatting will be replaced by Sarah Bovy at the wheel of the Iron Dames' #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 entered in the LMGT3 class for the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025).

After injuring her foot during a pit stop,&nbsp;Michelle Gatting&nbsp;will not be fit enough to compete in the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The Danish driver&rsquo;s place in the Iron Dames line-up in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-a-new-livery-for-the-iron-dames-59652" target="_blank">#85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3</a>&nbsp;will be taken by Sarah Bovy from Wednesday&rsquo;s free practice sessions.

Bovy, 36, is now set to start her fifth 24 Hours of Le Mans after starting the season in the European Le Mans Series. She has been an Iron Dame since 2021 and won the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain with the Italian team. She will share the wheel of the #85 Porsche with C&eacute;lia Martin and Rahel Frey.

During yesterday&rsquo;s Test Day, Martin, Frey and Gatting produced a time of 3:59.615 to stand in 21st place in the LMGT3 class.&nbsp;&ldquo;We drove a lot of laps without any incidents &ndash; that&rsquo;s always a plus,&rdquo; said Frey. &ldquo;Coming back to Le Mans means adapting to the car&rsquo;s low-downforce setup again, which is essential on this circuit.&rdquo;

Read&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-presentation-of-the-lmgt3-category-59644" target="_blank">our presentation of the LMGT3 class</a>&nbsp;for the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>,&nbsp;including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Iron Dames forced to reshuffle line-up

Hypercars under the microscope | Eight illustrious manufacturers will line up in the top class at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025). The BMW M Hybrid V8 has just one mission – to propel the German manufacturer back to the top of the international endurance tree.

<h4>Looking back</h4>

At 4.00&nbsp;pm on Sunday 13 June 1999, the #15 BMW V12 LMR took the chequered flag as winner of the 67th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Bavarian carmaker left its imprint on the history of the French endurance classic by winning this iconic edition. Fast forward to Thursday 10 June 2021 when the BMW Group board rubberstamped plans to return to endurance in the LMDh Hypercar class. The future car was not only to win the IMSA championship in North America, but also the FIA World Endurance Championship and, of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Once the partnership with Dallara was signed in late summer, the teams quickly got down to business. Just over a year later, on Monday 25 July 2022, the BMW M Hybrid V8 began initial testing in preparation for its d&eacute;but race six months later: the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

<h3>Admire the BMW M Hybrid V8 in our photo gallery below.</h3>

<h4>Combining performance and sustainable development</h4>

The German prototype is driven by a V8 turbo that goes by the name of P66/3. It has the same hybrid system as all Hypercars built to LMDh regulations. Ulrich Schulz, the Chief Drivetrain Engineer on this project, and his team had to take on board a raft of sustainable development aspects, all within a short timeframe. Starting from a blank page was therefore out of the question.

The BMW P66/1 naturally aspirated eight-cylinder engine used in DTM by the 2017 and 2018 BMW M4 DTM offered the best platform in Schulz&rsquo;s view. The stressed engine offered the advantage of slipping directly into a monocoque chassis. The bulk of the work involved adding two turbos. Thorough work was conducted on sustainability, increased performance and engine temperature management. As development progressed, the engine was adjusted to the Dallara chassis and its electrical environment.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge plus that we were able to make use of existing materials such as steel and aluminium from BMW&rsquo;s time in Formula 1&nbsp; [&hellip;] That saved us time and a lot of money,&rdquo; says Schulz. &ldquo;Efficiency was a critical factor for this project, as we had a very short period of time available between getting started and the first racing appearance. Converting the normally aspirated P66/1 engine into a bi-turbo and then working with the electric drivetrain colleagues to turn it into a hybrid drive system was very complex. Thanks to the expertise, the great collaboration and the high level of motivation of all departments, we managed to complete the fire-up of the complete drive unit just a few weeks before the roll-out of the car,&rdquo; he adds.

<h4>BMW P66/3 specifications</h4>

<ul>
	<li>90-degree V8</li>
	<li>3.999-litre displacement</li>
	<li>32 valves (4 per cylinder)</li>
	<li>Twin turbo</li>
	<li>Max. engine speed: 8,200 rpm</li>
	<li>Output: 640 hp (limited by the regulations)</li>
	<li>Torque: 650 Nm</li>
	<li>Injection pressure: 350 bar</li>
	<li>4,306 parts (1,006 different types)</li>
</ul>

<h4>Unmistakeably BMW</h4>

A BMW engine in a Dallara chassis was a promising start. However, the new Hypercar prototype still had to be given a BMW identity. This was the job of Michael Scully, BMW Motorsport&rsquo;s Head of Design:&nbsp;&ldquo;My team&#39;s job was to make the BMW M Hybrid V8 look like a BMW,&rdquo; Scully says, &ldquo;and embrace every opportunity to make it also perform like one on the race track. The design is rooted in BMW&rsquo;s DNA of purposeful, efficient performance, and the exterior&rsquo;s bold, determined character invokes BMW&#39;s frontiersmanship of turbo power, now united with an optimised hybrid electric powertrain.&rdquo;

The Bavarian manufacturer&rsquo;s Hypercar is especially recognisable from the front with the large symmetrical nostrils &ndash; the famous &ldquo;twin kidney&rdquo; &ndash; edged with a luminous strip at night. Easy to spot in the dark at Le Mans!

<h4>What do the drivers say?</h4>

Robin Frijns (#20 BMW M Hybrid V8):&nbsp;&ldquo;I love the fact that I&rsquo;m so low down in the car. I&rsquo;m the one with the lowest driving position, so it&rsquo;s very good from my point of view. If I&rsquo;m sat higher, I don&rsquo;t get the same sensations.&rdquo;

Dries Vanthoor (#15 BMW M Hybrid V8):&nbsp;&ldquo;What I really like is that you can have a really incisive front axle on this car. However, I&rsquo;m the most extreme in that respect so I have to bow to my teammates&rsquo; preferences.&rdquo;

<h4>Elusive WEC success</h4>

The BMW M Hybrid V8 has showed constant progress since its first competitive outing. Car and team alike are making ground on the class leaders in terms of speed, reliability and strategy. The German Hypercar has notched up two wins across the Atlantic and put together a string of pole positions at the start of this season in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. However, it has yet to pop the FIA WEC champagne corks.&nbsp; For its return to the top class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, the team suffered a serious setback with neither car classified. Vanthoor, Frijns &amp; Co will be banking on a more successful outcome at 16:00 on Sunday 15 June.

Don&rsquo;t miss the next episode in our &ldquo;Hypercars under the microscope&rdquo; series in which we shall continue our analysis of the prototypes in the high-quality field.

Next up: Peugeot 9X8

In case you missed them:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659" target="_blank">Cadillac V-Series.R</a>, <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-alpine-a424-hypercar-under-the-microscope-more-precise-more-reliable-more-ambitious-59684" target="_blank">Alpine A424</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-aston-martin-valkyrie-under-the-microscope-when-the-road-leads-to-le-mans-59692" target="_blank">Aston Martin Valkyrie</a>

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

The BMW M Hybrid V8 under the microscope – a return to winning ways at Le Mans?

Michelin has taken the wraps off its new Pilot Sport Endurance range for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The exclusive supplier to the Hypercar class has designed the tyre with three aims in mind: performance, longevity and respect for the environment.

French manufacturer Michelin will introduce a brand new generation of tyre&nbsp;for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Pilot Sport Endurance range has been conceived to deliver on performance, durability and a more environmentally friendly compound.

With this model, Michelin is taking a significant step forward in endurance tyre development. The tyre has been completely redesigned to meet the challenges of motorsport today: going faster and for longer, while consuming fewer resources.&nbsp;&ldquo;Since the inception of the Hypercar class, the competitors have pared a second off lap times by optimising tyre use,&rdquo; says Matthieu Bonardel, Head of the Motorsport Business Line&nbsp; at Michelin. &ldquo;Given the technical and sporting success, it is tempting to opt for stability. But it&rsquo;s precisely when everything is running smoothly that we need to be bold and go a stage further.&rdquo;

<h2>Greener tyres without compromising on performance</h2>

This development reflects a clear strategy to be more respectful of the environment as the new range will contain 50% renewable or recycled raw materials. The ambitious initiative is consistent with the drive by the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to reduce their ecological footprint without sacrificing&nbsp;performance.&nbsp;&ldquo;Today more than ever, our capacity for innovation is geared towards a vital issue: durability,&rdquo;&nbsp;Bonardel continues. Michelin can draw on a century of know-how, advanced simulation systems and in-depth work on materials and manufacturing processes to achieve this goal.

<h2>A long-term commitment</h2>

For Michelin, motorsport continues to have a role to play as a laboratory for innovation with an ability to transfer the technologies from the racetrack to the road. Endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans provide a testing ground to put the products through their paces under extreme conditions. Matthieu Bonardel has the final word:&nbsp;&ldquo;A constant quest for improvement and continued investment are necessary to keep the whole industry moving forward for the benefit of sustainable mobility.&rdquo;

We look forward to 2026 and seeing the enhanced performance, efficiency and respect for the environment introduced by the Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance tyre on the racetrack.

Michelin designs a greener, more durable Hypercar tyre for 2026

Test Day was the dress rehearsal for the 62-car 24 Hours of Le Mans field before free practice 1 on Wednesday and Hyperpole on Thursday. We’ve crunched the numbers to give you the low down.

<h2> 
3:26.246</h2>

Brendon Hartley, driver of the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, topped the rankings on Test Day for the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The New-Zealander set the day&rsquo;s best lap time in the afternoon session, bettering James Calado (3:26.777) in the #51 Ferrari 499P and Mick Schumacher (3:27.313) in the #36 Alpine A424. The Hypercar Test Day times are improving year on year. Antonio Giovinazzi set 3:29.504 in 2023 in the Ferrari AF Corse #51 Ferrari 499P and last year K&eacute;vin Estre registered 3:26.907 with the Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 Porsche 963.

But this year <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/toyota-up-the-pace-during-red-flag-filled-le-mans-test-session-59706">Toyota have snatched the number one spot from Porsche</a>. The Japanese team is making gradual progress with their Hypercar. Last year, Brendon Hartley&rsquo;s best lap was 3:27.615 (#8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid). Yesterday was a 1.3-second improvement! Its GT-One livery may be a nod to the past, but the #7 Toyota is moving forwards. It ran faster than last year too, with Nyck de Vries&rsquo; 3:28.385 beating Kamui Kobayashi&rsquo;s 2024 performance (3:28.467).&nbsp;

Ferrari have also improved. Miguel Molina set 3&#39;28&rdquo;014 last year, which James Calado bettered by 1.2 seconds yesterday.

BMW is also on the &ldquo;improved&rdquo; list Robin Frijns shaved off five tenths of a second, taking his car from 3:28.072 to 3:27.554. The improvement goes unnoticed in a year-on-year comparison of Test Day rankings, where the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 slides down to eighth place from sixth. This year the Ferrari&rsquo;s are out in force and Alpine is making great strides. Nicolas Lapierre&rsquo;s 3:29.620 put the car in 17th place in 2024 but yesterday Mick Schumacher nailed 3:27.313, which put him on the podium. That&rsquo;s a three-second improvement for the German driver! The French make has made the most progress compared to last year&rsquo;s Test Day.

Cadillac&rsquo;s advancement was less spectacular, with 3:27.620 for Alex Lynn in the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota #13 V-Series.R, putting him in ninth place. The other Cadillacs ranked 16th and 17th. Last year, the American car&rsquo;s best lap time was 3:29.360. As most competitors have improved, each team&rsquo;s progress is perhaps less evident.

Only Peugeot and Porsche had a slower Test Day than last year&rsquo;s. Jean-Eric Vergne looks to be Peugeot&rsquo;s fastest driver, judging by his best lap time: 3:29.386 &ndash; not far off Paul Di Resta&rsquo;s 3:29.326 in 2024. K&eacute;vin Estre didn&rsquo;t top the tables this year but remains the fastest driver in the Porsche camp with 3:27.56 (compared to 3:26.907 in 2024). The three factory 963s were in the top 4 last year but ranked 5th, 6th and 11th yesterday.

The Aston Martin Valkyries had an admirable first outing at Le Mans with 3:29.249 for Tom Gamble in the #007 and 3:29.418 for Marco S&oslash;rensen in the sister car. Whatever the pace, the sound of the V12 engine is music to many ears!

All the Hypercars achieved the unofficial lap time of 3.30. However, not all drivers managed to match it. Twelve drivers have yet to record a sub 3.30 lap, while 53 drivers can claim to have done so. The remainder did not record a timed lap.

<h2>22</h2>

The fastest LMP2 was the #22 Oreca 07 entered by United Autosports. Pietro Fittipaldi set the time of 3:35.770. Mathias Beche in the TDS Racing #28 was almost half a second slower, and Louis Del&eacute;traz (#199 AO by TF) added seven tenths. The #22 also went fastest at last year&rsquo;s Test Day, in the hands of Oliver Jarvis (3:34.704).

<h2>5</h2>

Five, yes five, of the six Lexus drivers are in the top 10 in LMGT3. Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez was fastest with 3:55.276 &ndash; an outstanding performance compared to the rest of the class and to last year (when the class was introduced). Alessio Rovera in the #21 296 LMGT3 sliced 1.5 seconds off the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Last year&rsquo;s time (3:59.883 S&eacute;bastien Baud, Corvette) has been well and truly smashed! However, Benjamin Barker&rsquo;s overall class record still stands. He set a best lap time of 3:55.263 in the Proton Competition #77 Ford Mustang in last year&rsquo;s qualifying session.

With Toyota heading the Hypercar class and Lexus the LMGT3 class, it&rsquo;s smiles all round at Toyota group.

<h2>74</h2>

The Toyota GR010 Hybrid may have been the fastest this Sunday, but it didn&rsquo;t cover the most ground. It clocked up 71 laps in the six hours of practice time (give or take interruptions), as did the #311 Cadillac V-Series.R and the Gibson Algarve Pro Racing #25 Oreca 07. The Team WRT #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 banked the most track time, completing 74 laps. The Kessel Racing #57 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 covered 69 laps, two more than the Vista AF Corse #21 and #54. The Inter Europol Competition #34 LMP2 only managed 40 laps. Luca Ghiotti crashed out between the Porsche Curves and the Karting early in the day, which meant time in the garage to repair the damage.

<h2>254</h2>

With four 963s on track &ndash; three of them factory-entered &ndash; Porsche is the manufacturer who bagged the most laps. 254 to be precise. Cadillac totalled 253 thanks to the #311, #12, #38 and #101. Aston Martin clocked the least mileage with 125 laps.

<h2>344.5</h2>

Nicol&aacute;s Varrone and Frederik Vesti both hit the 344.5 kph mark. The drivers of the #99 Porsche 963 and #311 Cadillac V-Series.R are among the eight drivers to have topped 340 kph. Malte Jakobsen was almost there, with 339.1 kph in the #94 9X8. Tom Gamble in the #007 Valkyrie has more to make up (334.9 kph).

<h2>39</h2>

Track temperature was markedly different between the two sessions. It got gradually warmer as the morning progressed reaching 22&deg;C by the end of session 1. The afternoon session opened with 33&deg;C, rising to 39&deg;C mid-session and then dropping back to 34&deg;C by the evening. Conditions were very similar to last year&rsquo;s Test Day.

<h2>what does this mean for the race?</h2>

Test Day is always a dilemma. Do you flex your muscles and show your pace, or keep your hand to your chest until race day? Teams often opt to keep their form a secret until later in the week. However, the charts are still an indication of how teams are doing. What should we expect next weekend? Stiff competition in all classes. There is little to choose between the eight Hypercar makes and any race incident would set the cat among the pigeons. In LMP2, the uniform grid makes predictions difficult. All the teams are potential winners! And in LMGT3, Lexus looks to have a car suited to La Sarthe, but has yet to win at Le Mans. For all teams, the podium is still a long way off.&nbsp;

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>&nbsp;, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day - Key Figures

24 Heures du Mans 2017

Toyota truly dominated this 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day. How do you feel this evening?&nbsp;

&quot;During Test Day we achieved the best lap time ever in Le Mans, so it&#39;s a good feeling. The balance of the car was good. We can do more. The team did great work last winter and the car has improved [a lot].&quot;

Do you think you could clock a faster lap than&nbsp;3&#39;18.132?

&quot;Actually the lap time was not really brilliant, I came into some traffic a couple of times and lost about a half second. It was at the beginning of the session, third or fifth lap. I think we&#39;ll see better lap times.&quot;

How do the team members feel about being back at&nbsp;the circuit and even in the same pits a year later?

&quot;It&#39;s so hard to believe what happened last time. But losing&nbsp;like we did last year, we definitely focused to win this year at Le Mans. This is where we have to show the speed and really show up. Last year made us hungry and you see the potential from last year.&quot;

What is your plan between now and the week of the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans?&nbsp;

&quot;I&#39;m still deciding, we will be here until Tuesday. But after that I haven&#39;t booked a flight yet, but for sure I want to rest before the big fight and I need to rest&nbsp;for the next weeks. I haven&#39;t decided yet but I want to go somewhere to relax really.&quot;

PHOTO: Kamui Kobayashi proved fastest on Sunday with the #7&nbsp;Toyota TS050 HYBRID.&nbsp;

24H LE MANS

Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota) discusses clocking the best time at Test Day

Related News

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Iron Dames forced to reshuffle line-up

The BMW M Hybrid V8 under the microscope – a return to winning ways at Le Mans?

Michelin designs a greener, more durable Hypercar tyre for 2026

24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day - Key Figures

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