José María López will face the most challenging round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this weekend. The race that all drivers dream of contesting and winning. The legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary with a special edition, marked by the return of historic teams and a regulation change that raised the bar for the Cordovan and his teammates of the Toyota Gazoo Racing No. 7, the Englishman Mike Conway and the Japanese Kamui Kobayashi.
Pechito will run for the seventh consecutive season the iconic event. The only time he didn't get on the podium was on his debut, in 2017. And in 2021, after a couple of attempts frustrated by unforeseen events in his car, he achieved an unforgettable victory and became the second Argentine to celebrate at the Circuit de La Sarthe. Today, the Rio Tercero player knows that everything he experienced in those past participations, all the joys and successes, mistakes and sorrows, will be key when fighting for victory in this 2023.
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Our advantage is the experience, we have to weigh what we learned and lived in all the races we ran here, "he analyzed in a chat with several South American media, hours after having achieved the third fastest time in the day of testing prior to the start of the official activity in Le Mans.
"I evolved, I changed a lot since my first participation. I learned to take this much more calmly, to manage my times. I know I don't need to be always looking, I know how to manage moments, when to go to the limit, when to risk and when not. And that's going to be very important," he added, who wants to take revenge after the second place in 2022.
The No. 7 Toyota on the test day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Photo Twitter @TGR_WEC
This edition – which will be held on Saturday and Sunday and is the fourth round of a championship in which López and his teammates march second, behind the Toyota 8 – will be different for several reasons. Because the test will be one hundred years old and that anniversary generated enormous expectation in the public and in the pilots. Because with the entry of new teams and constructors, the level of competition was raised. And because 2023 will mark the return to La Sarthe of two titans of world motorsport, Ferrari, which has not raced there since 1973, and Porsche, maximum winner at this circuit with 19 wins.
"Everyone is going to want to win, more than in previous years. That is why we will have to give a little more. It's going to be a very difficult race," Pechito reflected. "Thinking about beating Ferrari or Porsche, brands with so much history, makes it special. Competing with them, winning in front of them or losing to them is special. We are building a history and it is very important within motorsport. With so many cars and constructors wanting to be part of the event, this is a golden age of endurance racing."
Toyota, a major player in the WEC in recent years, will arrive at the race weekend with a "final speed deficit". It is that by the regulatory change introduced in this season will add 37 kilos for the 24 Hours, which will leave him at a disadvantage.
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A shared publication of Jose Maria "Pechito" Lopez (@pechito37)
"We need a fast car, which does not wear the tires or be difficult to stop under braking. A constant car. The issue is to achieve it. We will have to readapt the car as best as possible for this race to compensate for that deficit we have for the extra kilos," said Lopez.
The Cordoban did not hesitate when choosing the great candidates. Although he recalled that "no rival should be underestimated," he said that there are two who are one step ahead.
"Ferrari showed a surprising, striking speed, because in the tests it took 10 kilometers more in a straight line. It is worrying. When it comes to fighting for a position or in decisive moments, there are no weapons against them. And Porsche has been more regular: it managed to make starts of 20 or 30 laps with a very even pace, "he analyzed.
"It's important to see the rivals, but more important is to see ourselves, work and try to get the most out of our car and our people. We have to be strong in reliability and try to make a race as perfect as possible, without mistakes in terms of strategy and pit stops. That's where we can make a difference."
Toyota's two trios in the 24 2023 Hours of Le Mans preview. Photo Twitter @TGR_WEC
And he closed: "Anyway, the most difficult rival is Le Mans, the race itself. It's a lap-by-round competition. It is the most difficult in world motorsport. It's very demanding for the car, for the driver and the engineers. It has its mystique, but it can be very cruel. It's 24 hours and even if everything is perfect, something can happen. You can have everything to gain and still leave empty-handed. Le Mans can give you the glory, but also a very hard blow."
What's the secret to winning there? Pechito is clear: "The fastest car doesn't always win. Le Mans is won by the one with the fewest mistakes, the one with the best strategy and the best pit stops. You have to play in the long run, because it is important to have a fast and competitive car, but much more to keep the whole car and healthy 24 hours a day. All our effort is in trying to make a perfect race."
"This race is special. It's different mentally and physically. It is approached differently. Cars are born for this race. Le Mans is thought, eaten and breathed all year round. Everything is changed, the car is almost completely new, because it's 24 hours. Much more work is done on the previous one. But it runs the same, thoroughly, because the main objective of the year is to win it."
The memory of 2021 and the secret of its validity
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Two seasons ago, Pechito and his teammates led the No. 8 Toyota by two laps, made up of Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi, New Zealand's Bertrand Hartley and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima, and took a historic victory in the Japanese marque's car 7. And the Cordovan took the blue and white flag to the top of the podium at Le Mans for the second time since 1954, the year in which José Froilán González had been crowned with Ferrari.
"One of the big goals of my career was to win Le Mans. It's the most important thing I achieved and the hardest thing I had to do. To have been the second Argentine to win here and to have done it after so many years is something very nice, that will stay with me all my life. I will never forget it," recalled the Cordoban. "But it's been two years and every time we come I want to win, to be competitive, that's what motivates me. Hopefully it will be again in 2023."
With 40 years (he turned 26 April) and a long career in national and international motorsport – he was champion of Top Race and Super TC2000, won three times the World Tourism Championship (2014, 2015 and 2016) and twice the Endurance (2019/20 and 2021), among others -, López has been in the world elite for many years. Its validity has a simple explanation: a lot of work.
"I like to put on different challenges and habits. The bike, for example, is my cable to the ground and also part of the training, "said Pechito. Photo @SPORTSPHOTOGRAPHER. ARG
"I'm challenging myself to stay at this level. I'm not 20 anymore and it's important to show my teammates and my team that I'm still competitive, beyond my age. Physically I am very strong, I put a lot of dedication to the work, I am the first to arrive at meetings and work with engineers... All of that motivates me," he explained. "I took habits in recent years, the bike, for example, is my cable to land and also part of the training. I like to challenge myself outside of motorsport to keep my head, crazy and competitive, elsewhere, because there aren't many races we run in a season. And I always look for things that demand me in my day to day to stay focused. Anything that helps me stay at this level."
"There is Pechito for a while. The desire and strength are still intact," he warned.
A brief reflection on Canapino
Pechito López is not the only Argentine flag bearer in international motorsport. In the same World Endurance Championship, for example, runs Esteban Guerrieri, with the Vanwall Racing Team; Franco Colapinto is increasingly a protagonist in Formula 3; Sacha Fenestraz earned his place as the starting driver for a Formula E team; and Agustín Canapino, another multiple national champion, is contesting his first season in the Indy Car Series. The Cordoban celebrated that the reef has been encouraged to this new challenge.
"The most remarkable thing is that he has made the decision to leave his comfort zone – which was Argentina, where he always fought for everything – and look for a different challenge, something that is always difficult," he said. "He's doing very well in the championship. For me, as a driver and Argentine, it always makes me proud that there is another Argentine in other categories doing well. Then, capacity and talent, Agustín has plenty. Hopefully it can be maintained for many years and have the possibility at some point to achieve an important result."