After five consecutive Le Mans wins, the World Champions took on the challenge of a record 16-car Hypercar field featuring competitors from Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot and Porsche. A sell-out 325,000 crowd witnessed an exceptionally close contest featuring drama and excitement until the very end.
Last year’s winners Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, saw off all competitors bar one. After 24 relentless hours of racing, the #8 crossed the line in second place, 1min 21.793secs behind the winning #51 Ferrari.
Only one GR010 HYBRID reached the chequered flag at the end of 342 laps. The #7 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López saw their victory hopes dashed through no fault of their own, by an accident after eight hours. Kamui was at the wheel when his car was hit from behind, causing terminal damage.
Both GR010 HYBRIDs had been at the front from the beginning when Sébastien led the early stages after starting third, with Mike fighting for the podium positions from fifth on the grid.
An exciting battle ignited immediately with spectacular wheel-to-wheel racing among the top 10 through the opening hours. Two rain showers added to the drama and positions changed as frequently as the conditions, with the GR010 HYBRIDs staying in contention during the first third of the race.
At that point, the #7 led the charge from second but their race ended at Tertre Rouge. Approaching a slow zone, where a maximum 80km/h speed applies and overtaking is forbidden, Kamui slowed to avoid passing another car and was hit from behind by two lapped cars. The impact caused driveshaft, tyre and bodywork damage meaning the car could not return to the pits.
In a show of team spirit and determination, the #7 crew of mechanics and engineers put that disappointment aside and immediately joined forces with their #8 counterparts to strengthen the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing challenge.
After the #94 Peugeot and #50 Ferrari dropped back, the #8 fought a titanic battle with the #51 Ferrari, initially leading in the early morning until it dropped to second when pitting to fix a damaged front splitter and right rear tyre puncture.
The leading pair kept up a relentless pace as the momentum swung back and forth. After 20 hours of racing, only three seconds separated the two leaders and there was no respite in the closing stages.
When Ryo took over with two hours to go following an impressive quadruple stint from Brendon, he was 16secs behind. He set about closing the gap but moments later the #8 went off at Arnage, hitting the barriers and damaging the front and rear bodywork. The #8 retained second place despite losing three minutes.
After those repairs, Ryo returned to the track but the contest with the leading Ferrari was over, with the priority now on reaching the chequered flag safely in a second place which, despite the disappointment, extends their drivers’ World Championship lead to 25 points.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s advantage in the manufacturers’ World Championship has been cut to 18 points over Ferrari, with three races remaining. The next race, the 6 Hours of Monza, takes place in four weeks, on 9 July.
