The nightmare just three minutes before the finish

At 2 : 57 PM on June 19, 2016, the long race was about to come to an end.

"In another three minutes the checkered flag would be given for a glorious moment of victory for the leading TOYOTA GAZOO Racing car." That was what everyone on site was expecting.

As one of the top three great races in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is held each June in the western French city of Le Mans and has a history of more than 90 years.

Toyota, after returning to the race in 2012 when a hybrid car was allowed to enter, has been challenging the 24 Hours of Le Mans till today.

As its name states, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a victory goes to the car that makes the most laps in 24 hours.

However, for the people who strive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, especially for the engineers and mechanics, it is not a race for "24-hour." They are on site to prepare for the start. Some work for more than 40 hours without sleeping.

Hisatake Murata, Toyota's General Manager, GR Development Division, who has led the development of the car and directed the race, was one of them.

"In just a few minutes all of the efforts since last year would be rewarded," but Murata wasn't relaxed yet knowing what racing is all about.

"In the past, I had seen Toyota teams run into trouble with just 30 minutes or one hour remaining, so I kept thinking that there still might be some trouble ahead."

When it got down to just two laps remaining, Murata was gaining confidence to win, and this time left the support trailer and headed for the pit. He wanted to share the happy moment with the whole team.

But it was at that very moment that the Japanese driver of the TS050 HYBRID, Kazuki Nakajima, shouted into his radio.

"No power!"

This misfortune stunned not only the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team members but also the many spectators and the journalists who had been watching and covering this race for many years.

Two years worth of development completed in just 12 months. The TS050 HYBRID, born to win

Looking back, this 2016 Le Mans race had actually begun a year before.

At 24 Hours of Le Mans in the previous year, the team had tried their best to win, but they ended up in 6th place, eight laps behind the winner.

It had been a complete loss. Far from winning, they had even failed to make a podium.

"If things go on like this, we won't win next year (2016) either."

Murata decided to complete the development of the new hybrid powertrain that was originally assumed to require two years in just one year, and to make it available for the 2016 race.

One year ahead of schedule.

That was easier said than done. It would mean to build a tremendously complex hybrid racing car from scratch in just 12 months. The project plan defied common sense completely.

In June 2015,

Immediately after the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2015), a desperate development race against the clock began at the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center where the engine and hybrid system were being developed.

The project members were all determined to do anything necessary to get the job done in time.

In October of 2015, simultaneous procedure for the work of drawing and procuring parts made it possible to assemble an engine and hybrid system for bench testing in four months.

But a car doesn't run on an engine and hybrid system alone.

At the start of serious track testing for the 2016 season, the new TS050 HYBRID car was still far from taking shape.

For that reason, the initial tests had to be done with the new engine and hybrid system mounted on the old model.

It wasn't until the opening round of the 2016 season at Silverstone that the team finally had two of the new TS050 HYBRID cars put together for the race. It was April 2016.

Although the new TS050 HYBRID managed to finish in 2nd place at Silverstone, there were still areas that obviously needed further development.

In the second round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, it ran alone in the lead but faced unexpected trouble. At the last race before the Le Mans, the team still couldn't get the result they wanted.

Then at last, the time had come for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Something still lacking," They swallow their pride and look to 2017

Toyota had been taking on the challenge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for more than 30 years. But they had never won there.

Before the 2016 Le Mans race, they asked themselves anew, "Are we OK with losing?"

Of course they weren't. Everyone involved with the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing knew it.

In order to win this time for sure they had come to this time-honored race with the new TS050 HYBRID.

And with seven minutes remaining before the end of the race, they had a lead of nearly 1 minute and 30 seconds over the Porsche in 2nd place, and the long awaited moment of victory was at hand.

But with three minutes remaining in the race, suddenly everything changed.
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team was suddenly thrown into the abyss of defeat.

The blow was so severe that some in the team's pit began to cry.

Hisatake Murata, Toyota's General Manager, GR Development Division, was one of the people there standing in shocked amazement at the catastrophe unfolding, too discouraged for words.

"Even if you dominate 99% of a 24-hour race, it is still a defeat if you can't finish 1st."

To the disheartened Murata and his team, one email arrived from Japan.

The sender was Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota.

Although other obligations had prevented him from going to Le Mans, president Toyoda had been watching from Japan the progress of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team's challenge all the time.

Together with his message for the media, the email contained words of consolation for Murata and the team members.
"I wish I could have been there with you all, sorry."

What follows here is president Toyoda's message to the media. In it, he expresses the belief that this disappointment was not just that of the people who developed the car and the team members but of all the people who supported Toyota, and it went on to say how he wanted to communicate to everyone that the company will turn this disappointment into motivation going forward.

Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation:

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who lent us their incredible support during this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. We at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing put tremendous pressure on ourselves to break our losing streak at Le Mans and fought so hard to make up for the unfortunate results of the past. All of the mechanics, engineers, drivers, suppliers, and everyone else involved with the team made incredible sacrifices and achieved constant improvements to build an even-better car for this year's Le Mans.

Just as our dreams began to come true, we all made to burn that moment into our minds even as unbelievable heartbreak unfolded before our very eyes. Toyota's cars have become so fast and so strong. But Porsche grew even faster and they were stronger. Throughout the 24 hours of the race―and, indeed, the 30 total hours including qualifying―it is not such an easy thing to continue to drive faster and more powerfully than anyone else on the road at Le Mans. When I think of what everyone in the team must be feeling... not to mention everyone who supported us... I honestly do not know what to say.

I cannot find the words. We at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing are "hate to lose." We do not compete without knowing the feeling of loss. Having tasted the true bitterness of losing, we will return to the World Endurance Championship arena next year, and we will return to compete in the battle that is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For our quest to build ever-better cars... For this, we will certainly come back to the roads of Le Mans. I would like to express my gratitude to all of the cars and drivers who fought alongside us on the track at Le Mans; particularly Porsche and Audi. We will be back reborn next year, and wish them to take us on with all of their might again.

Look out for Toyota, who hate to lose, on the track next year.

Thank you.

In most cases, a message from the head of a corporation is sent when a team wins or makes a great accomplishment. It is rare for a message like this to be sent from him when a team has lost a race.

Murata and the other members of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing felt a priceless redemption when they received this message from President Toyoda.

Having asked themselves prior to the race, "Are we OK with losing," the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team tasted real defeat in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Something is still lacking."

To find the answer to this question, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes on the challenge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans once again in 2017.