Same result. Different story.
Le Mans was almost as case of musical chairs this year. Audi's R18 e-tron quattro was in the unfamiliar position of playing tortoise to the Toyota TS040’s hare. Knowing they were out-paced (even by Porsche), it was Team Joest that inevitably ascended the top step of the podium. Ironically it was the same strategy that propelled Porsche to glory over Toyota and Mercedes before beginning their fifteen year sabbatical.
The Porsche 919 Hybrid’s shelf-life could be likened to a WWII fighter pilot. A 24 hour test had been attempted to no avail but by Saturday evening Porsche was truly in the Twilight Zone. On Sunday morning the team had cruised past the wounded #7 Toyota; most likely pinching themselves given they were now leading the greatest sports car race on the planet.
The most overlooked effort was that of Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi's Toyota even when all looked hopeless after Nicolas Lapierre’s crash with Marco Bonanomi and Sam Bird during the rain soaked start of the race. To come from eight laps down, haul themselves onto the podium and extend their championship lead by twenty points is nothing short of a miracle. In black and white their third placing is arguably better than Audi’s win, but such tales tend to fall through the cracks when you’re scratching for a headline.
Trent Price, eRacing editor