In 2011, the LFA was again entered in the Nürburgring 24-hour race. It had already won the SP8 class championship the previous year and production of a commercial model had already started. So then, why enter the race? Simply because there is no final goal in the effort to “make ever-better cars.”
The machine, whose aerodynamic performance had been improved compared to the previous year’s model, was equipped with many of the items adopted in the LFA Nürburgring Package, installed in 50 of the limited 500 vehicles. Although the objective of entering the race continued to be development testing, this could be considered the year we took on an even more serious, full-fledged challenge. For example, Akio Toyoda, who goes by “Morizo”, told the team, “Please aim to get in the top ten overall.” This meant that the team had to battle world-leading warriors on an equal basis.
Two cars were again entered in the race this year. In the preliminary round, Car No.87 placed 26th overall (3rd in the SP8 class), and Car No.88 placed 23rd overall (2nd in the SP8 class). As a result, the LFA earned a blue flashing light (a high-brightness LED light), which is installed only on the windshields of cars that placed in the top group in the preliminary round. This was the moment the LFA’s speed was recognized at Nürburgring.
However, Nürburgring was not going to be easy on us. An engine problem early on in the race forced Car No.87 to have its engine replaced. Car No.88 was rear-ended in the middle of the race and the resulting damage to its rear caused a significant drop in its position. However, all-out efforts by the mechanics helped the car return to the track. From the start of the project, GAZOO Racing had always entered the Nürburgring 24-hour race with a pit crew consisting mostly of mechanics who were Toyota employees. In the beginning, our inexperienced pit crews were painful to watch, but had since grown to the point where they were receiving unequivocal approval from racers on other teams.
In terms of results, Car No.88 placed 41st overall (3rd in the SP8 class) and Car No.87 placed 134th overall (8th in the SP8 class), which were not improvements over the previous year’s results. Although winning is not everything in a race, the GAZOO Racing members felt that they should have done better, given the car’s potential.