Toyota wins third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans
Toyota wins third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans
Toyota has won its third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans as Kazuki Nakajima took the chequered flag in the #8 car at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The victory is a third for Sebastien Buemi and Nakajima and a second for Brendon Hartley, the New Zealander replacing Fernando Alonso in the #8 car for 2020.
The #7 Toyota in the hands of Jose Maria Lopez finished third, overtaking Louis Deletraz's #3 Rebellion Racing entry in the final hour that was stuck in the garage while the mechanics repaired crash damage.
It was better news for the other Rebellion Racing car as Norman Nato crossed the line second, splitting the two Toyotas in what was the final Le Mans for the team.
Toyota had entered the race as the overwhelming favourites to take victory.
Initially it appeared fortune would favour the #7 car, but the dreams of Lopez, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi were shattered by a turbo failure at 3am.
Repairs took half an hour to complete as the car dropped eight laps behind the sister car.
In LMP2, the #22 United Autosports car of Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque, and pole-sitter Paul di Resta took an impressive victory in the busiest class of the four with 24 participants, with Hanson taking the car to the flag.
In a chaotic final 20 minutes, United Autosports called Hanson into the pits for a quick splash and dash, dropping the entry behind Anthony Davidson's Jota.
But with only 10 minutes remaining, Davidson himself had to pit for fuel, surrendering the lead. With a comfortable gap back to the third in class Panis Racing entry, Davidson was still able to cross the line second in class.
In the early morning, United Autosports had looked on course for a famous one-two in the LMP2 category, but the #32 car suffered an oil leak and lost an hour in the pits, dropping well out of contention for the podium places.
In the final hour, Jean-Eric Vergne's #26 G-Drive, that was running third in LMP2, shot off at Indianapolis as Vergne reported over the radio his suspension had broken. The small Panis Racing team inherited the podium position with Matthieu Vaxiviere finishing their race.
James Allen in the #39 Graff, who surprisingly led the LMP2 for the first two hours of the race with a superb drive, clattered into the tyre barrier with 40 minutes to go, throwing away the team's fifth place in the class.
Alex Lynn took victory for the #97 Aston Martin in the GTE Pro class, holding off James Calado in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari by half a lap while Nicki Thiim finished third for Aston Martin.
The Porsche factory team, who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first Le Mans win, could only manage P6 and P7 in the class after being disadvantaged by the balance of performance results.
In GTE Am, the #90 TF Sport of Charlie Eastwood took the win. Matt Campbell in the #77 Proton Porsche finished second, with AF Corse getting another podium place as the #83 car with Nicklas Nielsen finished third.
The race was one of attrition, with 16 of the 59 cars to start the race failing to reach the flag.
As the chequered flag fell on the 24 Hours, so did the flag fall on the LMP era. For 2021, the Hypercar regulations will take hold. Bring it on!
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 winner Sainz shares RAW images from surgery and recovery
- 26 minutes ago
Hamilton and Cullen F1 fairytale COULD happen as clues reveal how
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Vettel CONFIRMS stunning comeback as Red Bull boss issues Verstappen statement
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton fired serious warning by Wolff as F1 star takes aim at controversial FIA decision - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
F1's quirkiest star begins selling ICE CREAM in latest venture
- Yesterday 22:57
F1 colleagues UNFOLLOW each other as internal drama cranks up
- Yesterday 21:57
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
Former F1 world champion set for full season racing return
Axed F1 driver De Vries joins new team
Former Red Bull F1 stars clinch consecutive world titles
De Vries RETURN reported for 2024 season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860