TOYOTA Racing stood on the podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours but left the Circuit de la Sarthe heartbroken after a frustrating race.
The #8 TS040 HYBRID of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi finished third to extend their lead in the World Championship and record TOYOTA’s fifth podium finish at Le Mans.
The #7 TS040 HYBRID of Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima started from pole position and held a 90-second lead with less than half the race remaining.
However, an unexpected electrical problem related to the wiring loom forced Nakajima to stop the car at Arnage corner. With little chance of returning to the pits, the #7 officially retired after 13 hours and 53 minutes.
“It is heartbreaking. I don’t know what to say." said pole winner Kazuki Nakajima. Somehow I thought maybe we could make it this time and then this happens. That’s Le Mans and that’s why we come here to take on the challenge. We will try again.”
Third-placed co-driver Sebastien Buemi was phiosophical after the race, accepting that damage control was probably the best silver lining Toyota could hope for under the circumstances.
"We could not have hoped for a podium after the accident" said Buemi. . We came back a long way and did a good job. But it’s clearly a tough day for us because we were hoping for more. We are still leading both championships so that is at least a positive."
Bittersweet celebrations for Toyota