José María López

José María "Pechito" López (born 26 April 1983) is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Akkodis ASP. He is three-time World Touring Champion with Citroën in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and two-time World Endurance Champion with Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2020 and 2021, also becoming that last year the second Argentine driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans since José Froilán González in 1954.

López raced in the 2006 GP2 Series for the Super Nova team, and previously for the DAMS team, and the CMS team in Formula 3000. He was also at Renault F1 as a test driver. He was supposed to make his Formula One debut in 2010 for US F1 Team but the team shut down before contesting a single race. On 16 December 2013, he joined the Citroën Total WTCC team for the World Touring Car Championship season. He won ten races that year and clinched his first World Touring Car Championship. In 2015, he repeated the feat, again winning ten races and the championship. In 2016, he again retained the title with eight wins.

Career

Early career López began in karting, before moving to the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2001, finishing in 17th position, taking one pole position and one fastest lap. He stayed in the series for the 2002 season driving for Cram Competition, finishing in fourth position, taking one victory.

In November 2009, López confirmed that he had a deal in place with the new US F1 Team to race in the 2010 Formula One season, provided he secured an eight million-dollar sponsorship package. Sources close to López claimed he already had eighty percent of the funds needed to secure his place in the team.

López was announced as a driver for US F1 on 25 January 2010. Former F1 driver Carlos Reutemann, a close friend of US F1 principal Peter Windsor and a leading politician in Argentina, helped put the funding package together for López. Complications in USF1's progress and uncertainty over whether USF1 would be able to stay in F1 for 2010 caused rumours to surface that López was in talks with rival team Campos, to secure his place in F1. This was confirmed by his manager in late February. On 2 March 2010, he was freed from his contract due to US F1 not being able to attempt to race. On 4 March, Karun Chandhok completed the 2010 grid by signing for Campos (later renamed as the Hispania Racing F1 Team), leaving López without a race drive.

Return to Argentina In 2010, López remained driving for Honda in the Argentine TC 2000 championship, finishing 6th. In that year he was granted the Platinum Konex Award as the best racing driver of the last decade in Argentina. For 2011 he switched to Fiat. In 2012, he won the (super) TC2000 championship for a third time, with privateer team PSG16.

World Touring Car Championship López made his World Touring Car Championship début with Wiechers-Sport at the 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina, substituting for their regular driver Fredy Barth. He took both Yokohama Independents' Trophy victories and scored an overall victory in race two.

In 2014, López moved to the Citroën team, and became 2014 World Touring Car Champion, clinching the title at Suzuka, thanks to his dominant race car -the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC that got seventeen victories out of 23 races -, but also dominating his two team-mates: Yvan Muller and the circuit races rookie Sébastien Loeb. López finished the season with ten victories, close to Yvan Muller's record.

In 2015, López expected to have more difficulties "I am aware the competition is going to be much stronger because the other drivers are going to know me, they will push harder and you can see this already how Honda is pushing more, the Chevrolet drivers and the same in my Citroën team.", yet he still dominated the first part of the season competition with his team-mates on the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.

Formula E In July 2016, López was confirmed as DS Virgin Racing's second driver for the third season of the FIA Formula E Championship and finished ninth in the Drivers' championship. He returned to Formula E for the 2017–18 campaign at the Marrakesh round for Dragon Racing, replacing the outgoing Neel Jani.

FIA World Endurance Championship 2017: Debut with Toyota Gazoo Racing On 4 February 2017, FIA World Endurance Championship side, Toyota Gazoo Racing announced that López will join the team for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving the No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway. Previously, he had expressed interest in driving for the team after several rounds of testing in 2015.

López made his WEC debut at Silverstone, where he crashed his car shortly after the half-way mark. He was evaluated for back pain and taken to a local hospital for precaution. As a result of his injury, he missed out on the Spa-Francorchamps round.

On 16 May, Toyota announced that they decided to move López to their third car, the No. 9 for Le Mans, swapping seat with Stephane Sarrazin and linking up with Yuji Kunimoto and Nicolas Lapierre. The trio took fifth during qualifying but would retire from the race after the No. 9 car was hit in the rear by an LMP2 car, resulting in a broken wheel that damaged the car's hydraulic and oil lines.

López returned to the No. 7 car for the Nürburgring round where he took his first WEC podium by finishing third, a minute behind the race-winning No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid due to the TS050 Hybrid's struggle with grip and pace. The trio finished in back-to-back fourth places at Mexico and Austin.

The No. 7 car finished second behind the sister car No. 8 at their home race at Fuji, earning López's second WEC podium. He finished his debut season in sixth in the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with 84.5 points.

2018–19: First wins and runner-up in the championship

On 30 January 2018, Toyota confirmed that López will contest the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship in an unchanged No. 7 lineup.

Racing record Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2001 Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup Lucidi Motorsport 10 2 1 1 2 24 17th 2002 Formula Renault 2000 Italia Cram Competition 10 4 5 4 7 205 1st Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup 6 1 1 0 3 100 4th 2003 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup DAMS 18 5 8 8 12 354 1st 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup 4 0 1 0 0 2 27th International Formula 3000 Championship CMS Performance 10 0 0 2 2 28 6th 2005 GP2 Series DAMS 22 1 0 0 3 36 9th 2006 GP2 Series Super Nova Racing 21 0 1 1 3 30 10th 2007 TC 2000 Championship Honda Racing 11 3 2 3 5 104 5th American Le Mans Series – GT2 Risi Competizione 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2008 TC 2000 Championship Honda Petrobras 14 4 8 3 5 174 1st Turismo Carretera HAZ Racing Team 13 0 0 0 0 109.5 15th FIA GT Championship – GT1 Escudería ACA Argentina 4 0 0 0 0 6 19th 2009 TC 2000 Championship Equipo Petrobras 13 4 9 7 7 158 1st Turismo Carretera HAZ Racing Team 16 2 5 5 5 196.75 2nd Top Race V6 Sportteam V6 12 5 8 7 6 57 1st 2010 TC 2000 Championship Equipo Petrobras 13 1 2 3 4 83 6th Turismo Carretera Oil Competición 10 0 0 0 0 28.5 36th Top Race V6 Copa América AS Racing 3 0 1 0 0 33 22nd Top Race V6 Torneo Clausura Oil Competición 6 0 0 0 2 5 3rd FIA GT1 World Championship Young Driver AMR 2 0 1 0 0 10 37th 2011 TC 2000 Championship Equipo Fiat Oil Combustibles 11 1 2 1 4 149 5th Turismo Carretera Oil Competición 10 0 0 0 0 28.5 36th Top Race V6 12 0 0 2 4 70 2nd 2012 Súper TC2000 Pro Racing 13 4 6 6 5 203.5 1st Turismo Carretera Oil Competición 14 0 1 1 0 95 23rd Top Race V6 Tauro Guidi Team 8 0 1 1 0 0 25th 2013 Súper TC2000 Equipo Petronas 12 1 1 2 5 147 5th Turismo Carretera Oil C5N Competición 14 1 4 2 4 367.25 9th Top Race V6 PSG16 11 2 5 5 8 78 2nd World Touring Car Championship Wiechers-Sport 2 1 0 0 1 35 15th 2014 World Touring Car Championship Citroën Total WTCC 23 10 7 11 17 462 1st 2015 World Touring Car Championship 24 10 7 9 19 475 1st Stock Car Brasil Red Bull Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2016 World Touring Car Championship Citroën Racing 22 7 4 8 10 381 1st 2016–17 Formula E DS Virgin Racing 10 0 0 0 2 65 9th 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 8 0 3 0 2 84.5 6th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF Súper TC2000 Toyota Gazoo Racing Argentina 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2017–18 Formula E Dragon Racing 12 0 0 1 0 14 17th 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd Súper TC2000 Toyota Gazoo Racing Argentina 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 8 2 1 1 6 157 2nd Formula E GEOX Dragon 13 0 0 0 0 3 21st 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 1 0 1 N/A 2nd 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP1 8 4 3 1 4 207 1st 2020 DTM Trophy TGR Ring Racing 4 0 0 0 0 12 17th 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 1 0 1 N/A 3rd 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar 6 3 4 1 3 173 1st 24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar 1 1 1 0 1 N/A 1st Súper TC2000 Toyota Gazoo Racing YPF Infinia 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar Toyota Gazoo Racing 6 2 1 1 3 133 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar 1 0 0 1 1 N/A 2nd IMSA SportsCar Championship – DPi Ally Cadillac 2 0 0 0 0 566 17th 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar Toyota Gazoo Racing 7 4 3 0 5 145 2nd European Le Mans Series – LMP2 Cool Racing 6 0 2 0 1 69 6th 24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMGT3 Akkodis ASP Team 7 0 0 0 0 0 32nd FIA World Endurance Championship – Hypercar Toyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 0 0 1 36 16th 24 Hours of Le Mans – Hypercar 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 2nd TCR South America Touring Car Championship Toyota Team Argentina 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship – LMGT3 Akkodis ASP Team 7 2 0 0 2 95 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGT3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5thFIA World Endurance Championship – HypercarToyota Gazoo Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 32nd 24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar Reserve driver IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 1 0 0 0 0 224 38th 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3 Akkodis ASP Team 4 0 0 0 0 38 8th* 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGT3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th 24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar Toyota Racing Reserve driver † As López was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points. Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 2001 Lucidi Motorsport MNZ BRN MAG SIL ZOL HUN A1R NÜR JAR EST 17th 24 2002 Cram CompetitionMAGSIL JAR AND OSC SPA IMODON EST 4th 100

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Italia results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 2002 Cram Competition VLL PER PER SPA MAG MNZ VAR IMO MIS MUG 1st 205

Complete Formula Renault V6 Eurocup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 2004 CMS Performance IMO CAT MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN SPA MNZ 6th 28

Complete GP2 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 DC Points 2005 DAMS IMOFEA IMOSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA NÜRFEA NÜRSPR MAGFEA MAGSPR SILFEA SILSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR MNZFEA MNZSPR SPAFEA SPASPR BHRFEA BHRSPR 9th 36 2006 Super Nova International VALFEA VALSPR IMOFEA IMOSPR NÜRFEA NÜRSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA SILFEA SILSPR MAGFEA MAGSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR MNZFEA MNZSPR 10th 30

Complete GT1 World Championship results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points 2010 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9 ABUQR ABUCR SILQR SILCR BRNQR BRNCR PRIQR PRICR SPAQR SPACR NÜRQR NÜRCR ALGQR ALGCR NAVQR NAVCR INTQR INTCR SANQRRet SANCR5 37th 10

Complete World Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts 2013 Wiechers-Sport BMW 320 TC ITA1 ITA2 MAR1 MAR2 SVK1 SVK2 HUN1 HUN2 AUT1 AUT2 RUS1 RUS2 POR1 POR2 ARG1 ARG2 USA1 USA2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 MAC1 MAC2 15th 35 2014 Citroën Total WTCC Citroën C-Elysée WTCC MAR1 MAR2 FRA1 FRA2 HUN1 HUN2 SVK1 SVK2 AUT1 AUT2 RUS1 RUS2 BEL1 BEL2 ARG1 ARG2 BEI1 BEI2 CHN1 CHN2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 1st 462 2015 Citroën Total WTCC Citroën C-Elysée WTCC ARG1 ARG2 MAR1 MAR2 HUN1 HUN2 GER1 GER2 RUS1 RUS2 SVK1 SVK2 FRA1 FRA2 POR1 POR2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 THA1 THA2 QAT1 QAT2 1st 475 2016 Citroën Racing Citroën C-Elysée WTCC FRA1 FRA2 SVK1 SVK2 HUN1 HUN2 MAR1 MAR2 GER1 GER2 RUS1 RUS2 POR1 POR2 ARG1 ARG2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 QAT1 QAT2 1st 381

Complete Formula E results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Points 2016–17 DS Virgin Racing Spark SRT01-e DS Virgin DSV-02 HKG MRK BUE MEX MCO PAR BER BER NYC NYC MTL MTL 9th 65 2017–18 Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e Penske EV-2 HKG HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC NYC 17th 14 2018–19 GEOX Dragon Spark SRT05e Penske EV-3 ADR MRK SCL MEX HKG SYX RME PAR MCO BER BRN NYC NYC 21st 3 † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2017 Toyota Gazoo Racing Nicolas Lapierre Yuji Kunimoto Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 160 DNF DNF 2018 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 386 2nd 2nd 2019 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 385 2nd 2nd 2020 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 381 3rd 3rd 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar 371 1st 1st 2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar 380 2nd 2nd 2023 Toyota Gazoo Racing Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar 103 DNF DNF 2024 Toyota Gazoo Racing Kamui Kobayashi Nyck de Vries Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar 311 2nd 2nd 2025 Akkodis ASP Team Clemens Schmid Răzvan Umbrărescu Lexus RC F GT3 LMGT3 340 37th 5th 2026 Akkodis ASP Team Clemens Schmid Răzvan Umbrărescu Lexus RC F GT3 LMGT3 335 36th 4th

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key)(Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points 2022 Ally Cadillac DPi Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac 5.5 L V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA MDO DET WGL MOS ELK PET 17th 566 2025 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 DAY SEB LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 38th 224

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2023 Cool Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC ARA SPA POR ALG 6th 69