24 HOURS OF LE MANS
Course:CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE
HEARTBREAK AT LE MANS
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing finished second in the 84th edition of Le Mans 24 Hours but had the victory taken from its grasp in a cruel late twist.
Both TS050 HYBRIDs took turns to lead the race as part of an exciting battle with the #2 Porsche and was poised to win with the #5 crew of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima before incredible late drama.
Starting what would have been the penultimate lap, with Kazuki at the wheel, the #5 suffered a sudden loss of power. Despite strenuous efforts to restore drive, the car struggled round the lap and stopped on the start-finish line. It was eventually restarted and completed the final lap too slowly to be classified.
The #6 of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, a long-time leader of the race which suffered its own troubles late in the race, finished second, behind the winning #1 Porsche.
That marked TOYOTA’s sixth podium finish, its fifth second place, in its 18th Le Mans since a debut entry in 1985.
The race was one of the closest fights in Le Mans history, with three cars locked in an intense battle for the entire 24 hours.
As a new car for 2016, the TS050 HYBRID, with its powerful 2.4litre turbo engine, 8MJ hybrid system and redesigned chassis, did not start the race as favourite but demonstrated its potential by setting the pace throughout.
Better fuel efficiency from the TS050 HYBRID allowed it to complete 14 laps per stint, while its rivals pitted one lap earlier. That reduced the number of stops required and contributed to a fascinating battle for the win.
Prior to the late drama, the TS050 HYBRID had suffered few issues. The #5 needed an additional pit stop early in the race due to severe tyre vibrations, while the #6 lost 30secs to repair minor bodywork damage following contact with a lapped car.
After 20 hours of flat-out racing, the top three were covered by less than 30 seconds, but soon the #6 dropped out of the battle for second, spending nine minutes in the garage to repair bodywork. Nevertheless, it resumed in a comfortable third place.
There was no respite for the team in a nervous finale as the #5 held off its rival until, with the race seemingly heading TOYOTA’s way, 260,000 stunned fans witnessed one of the most dramatic finales in the history of Le Mans.
The team will analyse the cause of the problem as part of its preparations for the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours, which begin immediately.
TS050 HYBRID #5 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima)
Anthony Davidson
“That was an unbelievable end to such a difficult race. You couldn’t have written the way it ended; no-one would ever have believed a movie if it ended like this. So to actually live through the experience is pretty hard to take, but it will make us stronger and we’ll be back.”
Sébastien Buemi
“It’s hard to find the words for what has happened today. We were in control of the race and were so close to the win that we all want. This is the biggest race of the year so it’s even tougher to accept. It is so disappointing for the whole team; we did the right preparation and we had the car to win. So we already look to next year when the target will be clear.”
Kazuki Nakajima
“First of all thank you to all the team members; we did everything right. The car was great to drive. It was tough to have Porsche #2 only 30 seconds behind me towards the end but we had the pace and we managed it very well. It was only two laps missing and it’s a pity we didn’t get the trophy; the team deserved to win. When I was doing my last lap to the chequered flag, all the marshals and fans were really kind to me and that was very emotional. I want to say thank you for that. Let’s come back stronger and grab that trophy.”
TS050 HYBRID #6 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)
Stéphane Sarrazin
“It was amazing; to lose the lead right at the end is just incredible. Even in your worst nightmares you don’t think about that. The team did a great job. Car #6 was fast and fighting for the lead for 20 hours. We showed we have a strong car with good pace and a strong team. But it was incredible to finish like that.”
Mike Conway
“I have mixed feelings. Second is okay but we are all gutted for car #5. They drove a great race and were controlling it. You could see how upset everyone was; I really feel for them. We were fighting up there all race at the front so it was a good race in terms of the performance of the car. It’s okay to get one car on the podium but we wanted more.”
Kamui Kobayashi
“Unfortunately our second position was not what we wanted. We are here to win so I am not really happy. We showed the car has strong performance and our car set the fastest lap of the race. I feel really sorry for car #5, all the crew, drivers and engineers. They did a great race. They fought back through difficult moments and deserved to win.”
RACE RESULTS
| Pos | N° | Cat | Driver | Car | T | Laps | Total Time | Gap | Best time | Best speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | LMP1 | Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB | Porsche 919 Hybrid | M | 384 | 24:00'38.449 | 3'21.756 | 243.2 | |
| 2 | 6 | LMP1 | Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI | Toyota TS050 - Hybrid | M | 381 | 24:03'32.958 | 3 Laps | 3'21.445 | 243.6 |
| 3 | 8 | LMP1 | Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS | Audi R18 | M | 372 | 24:03'30.210 | 12 Laps | 3'22.206 | 242.6 |
| 4 | 7 | LMP1 | Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER | Audi R18 | M | 367 | 24:02'28.842 | 17 Laps | 3'23.043 | 241.6 |
| 5 | 36 | LMP2 | Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI | Alpine A460 - Nissan | D | 357 | 24:00'39.911 | 27 Laps | 3'37.195 | 225.9 |
| 6 | 26 | LMP2 | Roman RUSINOV, Will STEVENS, René RAST | Oreca 05 - Nissan | D | 357 | 24:03'20.551 | 27 Laps | 3'36.558 | 226.6 |
| 7 | 37 | LMP2 | Vitaly PETROV, Victor SHAITAR, Kirill LADYGIN | BR01 - Nissan | D | 353 | 24:03'16.118 | 31 Laps | 3'40.065 | 223 |
| 8 | 42 | LMP2 | Nick LEVENTIS, Danny WATTS, Jonny KANE | Gibson 015S - Nissan | D | 351 | 24:01'54.016 | 33 Laps | 3'38.795 | 224.2 |
| 9 | 33 | LMP2 | Junjin PU, Tristan GOMMENDY, Nico Pieter DE BRUIJN | Oreca 05 - Nissan | D | 348 | 24:03'02.532 | 36 Laps | 3'38.605 | 224.4 |
| 10 | 41 | LMP2 | Memo ROJAS, Julien CANAL, Nathanaël BERTHON | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | D | 348 | 24:03'55.150 | 36 Laps | 3'41.806 | 221.2 |
| 11 | 27 | LMP2 | Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, Mikhail ALESHIN | BR01 - Nissan | D | 347 | 24:01'29.276 | 37 Laps | 3'39.445 | 223.6 |
| 12 | 23 | LMP2 | Fabien BARTHEZ, Paul Loup CHATIN, Timothé BURET | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | M | 347 | 24:03'19.601 | 37 Laps | 3'39.629 | 223.4 |
| 13 | 1 | LMP1 | Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY | Porsche 919 Hybrid | M | 346 | 24:01'42.207 | 38 Laps | 3'21.816 | 243.1 |
| 14 | 49 | LMP2 | John PEW, Oswaldo NEGRI JR, Laurens VANTHOOR | Ligier JS P2 - Honda | D | 345 | 24:01'00.289 | 39 Laps | 3'37.339 | 225.8 |
| 15 | 43 | LMP2 | Ricardo GONZALEZ, Bruno SENNA, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | D | 344 | 24:03'05.467 | 40 Laps | 3'38.734 | 224.3 |
| 16 | 30 | LMP2 | Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | D | 341 | 24:02'25.019 | 43 Laps | 3'42.146 | 220.9 |
| 17 | 25 | LMP2 | Michael MUNEMANN, Christopher HOY, Andrea PIZZITOLA | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | D | 341 | 24:02'34.836 | 43 Laps | 3'40.450 | 222.6 |
| 18 | 68 | LMGTE Pro | Joey HAND, Dirk MÜLLER, Sébastien BOURDAIS | Ford GT | M | 340 | 24:00'41.591 | 44 Laps | 3'51.840 | 211.6 |
| 19 | 82 | LMGTE Pro | Giancarlo FISICHELLA, Toni VILANDER, Matteo MALUCELLI | Ferrari 488 GTE | M | 340 | 24:01'41.791 | 44 Laps | 3'52.269 | 211.2 |
| 20 | 69 | LMGTE Pro | Ryan BRISCOE, Richard WESTBROOK, Scott DIXON | Ford GT | M | 340 | 24:02'06.385 | 44 Laps | 3'51.514 | 211.9 |
| 21 | 66 | LMGTE Pro | Olivier PLA, Stefan MÜCKE, Billy JOHNSON | Ford GT | M | 339 | 24:03'54.438 | 45 Laps | 3'51.582 | 211.9 |
| 22 | 40 | LMP2 | Tracy KROHN, Niclas JÖNSSON, João BARBOSA | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | M | 338 | 24:01'46.760 | 46 Laps | 3'39.988 | 223 |
| 23 | 95 | LMGTE Pro | Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Darren TURNER | Aston Martin Vantage | D | 338 | 24:03'29.867 | 46 Laps | 3'53.293 | 210.3 |
| 24 | 97 | LMGTE Pro | Richie STANAWAY, Fernando REES, Jonathan ADAM | Aston Martin Vantage | D | 337 | 24:03'04.755 | 47 Laps | 3'53.809 | 209.8 |
| 25 | 63 | LMGTE Pro | Jan MAGNUSSEN, Antonio GARCIA, Ricky TAYLOR | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 336 | 24:03'42.578 | 48 Laps | 3'53.398 | 210.2 |
| 26 | 62 | LMGTE Am | William SWEEDLER, Townsend BELL, Jeffrey SEGAL | Ferrari 458 Italia | M | 331 | 24:01'02.654 | 53 Laps | 3'56.671 | 207.3 |
| 27 | 83 | LMGTE Am | François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS | Ferrari F458 Italia | M | 331 | 24:03'57.551 | 53 Laps | 3'56.639 | 207.3 |
| 28 | 88 | LMGTE Am | Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Patrick LONG | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 330 | 24:01'51.085 | 54 Laps | 3'57.989 | 206.2 |
| 29 | 12 | LMP1 | Nicolas PROST, Nick HEIDFELD, Nelson PIQUET JR | Rebellion R-One - AER | D | 330 | 24:02'18.466 | 54 Laps | 3'26.838 | 237.2 |
| 30 | 61 | LMGTE Am | Weng MOK, Keita SAWA, Robert BELL | Ferrari 458 Italia | M | 329 | 24:03'10.252 | 55 Laps | 3'57.339 | 206.7 |
| 31 | 77 | LMGTE Pro | Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Philipp ENG | Porsche 911 RSR (2016) | M | 329 | 24:04'12.246 | 55 Laps | 3'54.377 | 209.3 |
| 32 | 22 | LMP2 | Vincent CAPILLAIRE, Erik MARIS, Jonathan COLEMAN | Ligier JS P2 - Judd | D | 328 | 24:01'21.362 | 56 Laps | 3'43.769 | 219.3 |
| 33 | 86 | LMGTE Am | Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 328 | 24:03'27.834 | 56 Laps | 3'58.004 | 206.1 |
| 34 | 48 | LMP2 | Ben KEATING, Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN, Marc GOOSSENS | Oreca 03R - Nissan | D | 323 | 24:00'48.536 | 61 Laps | 3'41.582 | 221.4 |
| 35 | 60 | LMGTE Am | Johnny LAURSEN, Mikkel MAC, Christina NIELSEN | Ferrari 458 Italia | M | 319 | 24:03'00.107 | 65 Laps | 3'57.218 | 206.8 |
| 36 | 99 | LMGTE Am | Andrew HOWARD, Liam GRIFFIN, Gary HIRSCH | Aston Martin V8 Vantage | D | 318 | 24:04'40.265 | 66 Laps | 3'58.503 | 205.7 |
| 37 | 50 | LMGTE Am | Yutaka YAMAGISHI, Pierre RAGUES, Jean-Philippe BELLOC | Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 | M | 316 | 24:02'55.234 | 68 Laps | 3'57.739 | 206.4 |
| 38 | 84 | CDNT | Frédéric SAUSSET, Christophe TINSEAU, Jean Bernard BOUVET | Morgan LMP2 - Nissan | M | 315 | 24:04'21.786 | 69 Laps | 3'46.131 | 217 |
| 39 | 57 | LMGTE Am | Johnny O'CONNEL, Oliver BRYANT, Mark PATTERSON | Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 | M | 306 | 24:01'05.718 | 78 Laps | 3'57.939 | 206.2 |
| 40 | 67 | LMGTE Pro | Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL | Ford GT | M | 306 | 24:03'54.471 | 78 Laps | 3'52.453 | 211.1 |
| 41 | 78 | LMGTE Am | Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 300 | 24:02'46.481 | 84 Laps | 3'58.417 | 205.8 |
| 42 | 31 | LMP2 | Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Chris CUMMING | Ligier JS P2 - Nissan | D | 297 | 24:02'25.007 | 87 Laps | 3'39.156 | 223.9 |
| 43 | 34 | LMP2 | Nicolas LEUTWILER, Shinji NAKANO, James WINSLOW | Oreca 03R - Judd | D | 297 | 24:02'39.781 | 87 Laps | 3'43.647 | 219.4 |
| 44 | 55 | LMGTE Am | Duncan CAMERON, Matt GRIFFIN, Aaron SCOTT | Ferrari 458 Italia | M | 289 | 24:02'13.322 | 95 Laps | 3'56.634 | 207.3 |
| 45 | 5 | LMP1 | Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA | Toyota TS050 - Hybrid | M | 384 | 24:08'26.824 | 7'48.375 | 3'22.495 | 242.3 |
| 46 | 28 | LMP2 | Inès TAITTINGER, Rémy STRIEBIG, Léo ROUSSEL | Morgan - Nissan | M | 292 | 22:31'32.877 | 92 Laps | 3'41.670 | 221.3 |
| 47 | 98 | LMGTE Am | Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA | Aston Martin V8 Vantage | D | 281 | 20:59'19.527 | 103 Laps | 3'57.718 | 206.4 |
| 48 | 38 | LMP2 | Simon DOLAN, Jake DENNIS, Giedo VAN DER GARDE | Gibson 015S - Nissan | D | 222 | 15:19'54.766 | 162 Laps | 3'40.274 | 222.7 |
| 49 | 13 | LMP1 | Mathéo TUSCHER, Alexandre IMPERATORI, Dominik KRAIHAMER | Rebellion R-One - AER | D | 200 | 13:26'30.853 | 184 Laps | 3'26.957 | 237.1 |
| 50 | 44 | LMP2 | Tor GRAVES, Matthew RAO, Roberto MERHI | Oreca 05 - Nissan | D | 283 | 20:21'43.277 | 101 Laps | 3'36.259 | 226.9 |
| 51 | 46 | LMP2 | Pierre THIRIET, Mathias BECHE, Ryo HIRAKAWA | Oreca 05 - Nissan | D | 241 | 16:32'51.162 | 143 Laps | 3'37.957 | 225.1 |
| 52 | 35 | LMP2 | David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI | Alpine A460 - Nissan | D | 234 | 16:04'45.068 | 150 Laps | 3'37.444 | 225.6 |
| 53 | 64 | LMGTE Pro | Oliver GAVIN, Tommy MILNER, Jordan TAYLOR | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | M | 219 | 15:46'31.096 | 165 Laps | 3'54.359 | 209.4 |
| 54 | 4 | LMP1 | Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, Pierre KAFFER | CLM P1/01 - AER | D | 206 | 16:11'39.684 | 178 Laps | 3'36.288 | 226.8 |
| 55 | 51 | LMGTE Pro | Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Alessandro PIER GUIDI | Ferrari 488 GTE | M | 179 | 13:45'16.177 | 205 Laps | 3'52.541 | 211 |
| 56 | 71 | LMGTE Pro | Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Andrea BERTOLINI | Ferrari 488 GTE | M | 143 | 10:35'29.729 | 241 Laps | 3'53.434 | 210.2 |
| 57 | 92 | LMGTE Pro | Frédéric MAKOWIECKI, Earl BAMBER, Jörg BERGMEISTER | Porsche 911 RSR (2016) | M | 140 | 11:32'34.506 | 244 Laps | 3'53.500 | 210.1 |
| 58 | 91 | LMGTE Pro | Patrick PILET, Kevin ESTRE, Nick TANDY | Porsche 911 RSR (2016) | M | 135 | 9:52'00.744 | 249 Laps | 3'53.754 | 209.9 |
| 59 | 47 | LMP2 | Tsugio MATSUDA, Matthew HOWSON, Richard BRADLEY | Oreca 05 - Nissan | D | 116 | 9:27'09.828 | 268 Laps | 3'39.650 | 223.4 |
| 60 | 89 | LMGTE Am | Cooper MACNEIL, Lehman KEEN, Marc MILLER | Porsche 911 RSR | M | 50 | 3:53'49.528 | 334 Laps | 4'01.419 | 203.2 |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
Toshio Sato, Team President
“I am incredibly proud of our team effort, not just today but since Le Mans last year. Thank you to the team in Higashi-Fuji and Cologne, as well as our partners Oreca. The way we have responded to the pain of our 2015 disappointment, by developing an all-new chassis and powertrain in a short timeframe, has been impressive and the performance of the TS050 HYBRID was strong. We worked as one team and took part in an amazing Le Mans 24 Hours. Congratulations to Porsche on its victory. I have no words to describe our emotions today. It is simply heartbreaking but we will return stronger and more determined to win.”