History has finally made at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which is part of the 2018-2019 WEC Superseason as Toyota Gazoo Racing proudly waved the Japanese flag by honoring their first ever Le Mans win in history.
Toyota wins Le Mans for the first time
The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050, piloted by Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso, Formula E driver Sebastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima, made a historic victory at Le Mans while the #7 TS050 managed to place 2nd place with a lap behind it. This marks the second time a Japanese carmaker won Le Mans since the legendary Mazda 787B and the first time a Japanese driver became part of the Le Mans-winning team.
The #3 Rebellion Racing became the only non-hybrid LMP1 car to join the podium after finishing 3rd.
Behind Toyota's historic victory, the #26 G-Drive Racing, driven by Roman Rusinov, Andrea Pizztola, and TECHEETAH Formula E driver Jean-Eric Vergne, won the LMP2 class while the #36 Signatech Alpine Matmut placed 2nd and the #39 39 Graff-S024 team placed 3rd.
Porsche remains the king of Le Mans, only in GTE Pro class, with their pink-colored #92 Porsche GT won the class followed by the #91 Porsche GT team and the #68 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT. In the GTE Am class meanwhile, the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Team 911 RSR won the class while the #54 Spirit of Race 488 GTE placed 2nd and the #85 Keating Motorsports 488 GTE placed 3rd.
It's that time of the year again when one of summer's biggest endurance racing event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, returns and no matter the current political climate here and globally, this event is here to stay for the most demanding few to take on this legendary endurance match in history and this year feels a bit less livelier than the past few years now that Audi has withdrawn from endurance racing for good, leaving the makes of Toyota and Porsche the only car companies to bring on their LMP1 titans while other teams have their own issues to deal with.
From winners, losers, even the cheaters who never respect the true nature of Le Mans, that means you Corvette Racing, every hour in Le Mans is a story for the drivers and cars themselves and after zero hour, there are some dirt that needs to be shaken off.
With the race well and truly over, time to jot down the winners of this year's Le Mans race...
LMP1 - #2 Porsche LMP Team 919
LMP2 - #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson
LMGTE Pro - #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage
LMGTE Am - #84 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE
Amid security concerns following series of terror attacks since the November 13 Paris attacks that placed most of France onto state of emergency, this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans held at Circuit de la Sarthe, located over 200km southwest of Paris, goes on as smoothly as planned but this year has known to be one of the most desperate Le Mans races in history.
Toyota was so close of winning Le Mans with their TS050 hybrid machines but their nearly 24 hours of fame ended in disaster when the #5 car lost power and stall on the pit straight with five minutes left. As a result, it ended on the 45th place overall, while the #6 car faced exterior damage. In a last minute race to the finish line, the duel between the #5 TS050 and the #2 919 Hybrid became one of the most thrilling duel in this year's Le Mans race. In the end, the Porsche scored another Le Mans win, while the #5 TS050 placed 2nd, and the #8 Audi R18 placed 3rd. This year's Le Mans is definitely way out of everyone's predictions.
Photo: Official Porsche Twitter
With Porsche snagged its second win while Toyota going home with bittersweet tears after their longstanding lead ended in late failures, Let's look at the other classes as the #36 Signatech Alpine won the LMP2 class while the #68 Ford GT won the LMGTE Pro class, repeating the history that its legendary ancestor did five decades ago.
In conclusion: So, Toyota may have been the star of the show for the last 24 hours and if these machines didn't broke down at the final minute, it would have been the next Japanese carmaker to win since the legendary Mazda 787B, but because of what happened, (sigh), I don't condone their last lap failure that led Porsche to score another victory. Despite of what happened, at least this year's Le Mans performed exactly as the fans hoped for despite France's state of emergency following the November 13 Paris attacks.
The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans is almost upon us (and I hope they got security on this racing event because of...well, you know), and before we get ready for this summer's endurance event, it might be best to look back at last year's winner at Le Mans, which is by no means a surprise for racing fans many since its return two years ago.
Yes, the arrival of the #19 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid on Forza Motorsport 6's Porsche Expansion pack, available now, is a surprise feat for players just to get to know more about this particular LMP1 Porsche that dominated last year's Le Mans against Audi's dominant R18 e-tron quattro. So, what's it all about?
Since 2014, Porsche returns to Le Mans with their first ever 919 Hybrid, an LMP1 prototype made to compete at the FIA World Endurance Championship. For the 2015, the 919 was been heavily revised with new body parts, allowing it to weigh 870kg (calculated without driver or fuel). With the new upgrades, the 919's subclass has been promoted from 6MJ to 8MJ.
Like the 2014-spec, the 919 features a 2.0L fuel-injected V4 engine with li-ion battery for energy recovery in mid-mounted longitudinal configuration. The hybrid powerplant is capable of producing 900HP of power output and 1,100lb-ft of torque, while mated with a 7-speed hydraulically-activated sequential gearbox with rear-lock differential. It features a bodywork blend of carbon fiber and aluminium as well as independent multi-link pushrod suspension.
At the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #19 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid, driven by Earl Bamber, Nico Hulkenberg, and Nick Tandy, emerged as the winner, dethroning Audi's reigning R18 e-tron quattro by a margin. At the 2015 FIA WEC season, thanks to the performance done by the #17, #18, and #19 919 machines, the team emerged as the constructors' champion of the 2015 season.
If you were like one of the many notable drivers behind the wheel of Porsche's Le Mans-winning machine even those who are involved in Formula One such as Mark Webber or Nico Hulkenberg, then you're very pleased about getting the chance to drive the 919 round the track, especially when you're polishing up your driving skills at your next e-sports event involving LMP1 machines like this in the game.
As you get behind the wheel of last year's champion, you will experience that driving this LMP1 prototype can be somewhat tricky at first but with enough practice, the 919 will be a capable LMP1 prototype that can take on whatever it stands on its way, especially Audi's R18 e-tron. Most of the players who spent countless days perfecting their racing techniques with the 919 Hybrid will realize just how great the LMP1's potential is, especially taking on the e-sports world or getting ready for the real Le Mans race this summer.
Speaking of potential, let's try compare the 919 Hybrid against other LMP1 competitors. There's the Audi R18 e-tron quattro that was an unbeatable force at Le Mans until the 919 beat it last year, and then, there's the TS030 HYBRID, the one that won the 2014 WEC season.
This should be a fun experiment to conduct and with Le Mans is upon us, now's the better time to do it, putting Le Man's finest to the test and see if the 919 has a possibility to score another win at this year's Le Mans.
And now, the results...
919 - 3:43.654
R18 - 3:44.604
TS040 - 3:44.895
So, in theory, the 919 Hybrid from Porsche may have a better chance to score another win at this year's Le Mans but with everything changed for the 2016 season, looks like there's a slight chance that Audi's new and improved R18 may strike a revenge hit against Porsche or should Porsche defend its honor with its slightly revised 919 Hybrid. Whatever what will expect for this season, it would be difficult to place your bets whether if Porsche defend its Le Mans honor or will Audi plots vengeance against Porsche this season...or rather there could be a third option coming up but oh well.
It feels good to be part of the Porsche 919 Hybrid experience at Forza Motorsport 6's Porsche Expansion, available now. If you haven't got your hands with this expansion, now's the time to do it and if you have it, you can experience Porsche's Le Mans-winning machine at the comfort of the living room. It maybe tricky to drive at the beginning but it can be the ideal LMP1 prototype to drive in this game that can adapt through various situations on track. Hope this isn't the last time fans will meet up with the 919 Hybrid.
This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans have seen numerous twists, before, during, and after the race because this year sees the appearance of the world's first front-wheel drive LMP1 prototype, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, but sadly, all three GT-R LM NISMO racing machines faced numerous setbacks, proving that Le Mans is not welcomed to front-wheel drive machines. Another twist in this year's Le Mans is that Audi's reign as the king of Le Mans is well and truly over as Porsche's improved 919 Hybrid, specifically the #19 919 Hybrid, snagged Audi's crown and helmed as the winner of this year's Le Mans.
This year's 24 heures du Mans endurance race has come to an epic conclusion after the remaining drivers survived 24 hours of complete torture at the Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe while some didn't make it or there's some few fatalities on it.
Anyway, Audi done it again with its 4th consecutive and 12th overall win thanks to drivers Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval, who crossed the line one lap ahead of the #8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid race car where Sebastien Buemi and the others were behind the wheel. This win serves as the 9th career win for Kristensen while Buemi finished 2nd overall and 3rd place goes to the No. 3 Audi driven by Lucas Di Grassi, Marc Gene and Oliver Jarvis.
The LMP2 class sees a win for Oak Racing's Nissan-powered Morgan racers where they did a 1-2 finish while at the LMGTE class sees a win for the #92 911 RSR followed by the No. 91 Porsche and No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage V8. The #73 C6 ZR1 racer by Corvette Racing placed fourth while the new SRT Viper GTS-R race car finished 8th and 9th.
Anyway, about the whole fatality stuff at this year's Le Mans 24 hour race, Allan Simonsen, who drove a #95 Vantage race car, died in a tragic accident 10 minutes after the start of the race. Here's Aston Martin's press release which sums everything up...
PRESS RELEASE:
ASTON MARTIN TAKES THIRD IN THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS Aston Martin Racing finished third in the highly competitive GTE Pro class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its #97 Vantage GTE, a result dedicated by the team to its driver Allan Simonsen (DN), who was involved in a tragic accident in the #95 car shortly after the start of the race.
David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin comments: “Following the wishes of Allan’s family, the team continued its participation in the race which was obviously very emotional and difficult for everyone. Both the #97 and #99 cars led for long periods of time but, ultimately, it was the changing weather conditions in the last hours that cost us the victory we all longed for. I’d like to thank everyone who has shown us such support over the weekend and sent the messages of condolence to Allan’s family.”
The #97 Vantage GTE, liveried with the design chosen in Gulf’s online competition, started from second on the grid – sharing the front row with the mechanically identical #99 car which qualified on pole. Darren Turner (GB) was quick off the start line taking the lead from Rob Bell (GB) and the pair continued together through the night, leading the race while trying to keep the #92 Porsche at bay.
As the sun rose over the Circuit de la Sarthe, the #99 car was leading the way with the #97 in third. However a wet track caused driver Frédéric Makowiecki (FR) to spin and collide with the barrier. The #97, now in second place, continued the team’s charge. In the lead up to the final two hours, the #97 took the lead from the #92 Porsche but heavy rain showers and unfortunate safety car timings hampered its campaign and, thus, the team crossed the finish line in third place.
Meanwhile the third Pro car, #98, having run strongly through the night succumbed to a technical issue and retired from the race. In the GTE Am class, the team’s #96 car finished eighth in a competitive class after 24-hours of consistent racing. #97 driver Darren Turner: “It’s been an emotional weekend. No one could have ever thought it would start as it did. Our thoughts are with Allan, his family and all the mates he made around the world during his racing career.”
Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing John Gaw comments: “Le Mans 2013 will be remembered by the team for the tragic circumstances that surrounded the team’s participation, but everyone performed their tasks with the dignity that the circumstances demanded. Ultimately, the outcome did not achieve our objectives but we look forward to taking the lessons learned to the remaining rounds of the WEC this year.” The ambitious five-car campaign marked the centenary year of Aston Martin and, to celebrate the anniversary, a parade of almost 100 Aston Martins took part in the Centenary Parade, a lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Aston Martin CEO, Dr Bez, led the lap in the company’s latest concept car, the CC100.
Dr Bez commented: “The tragedy in the opening hours of the race overshadowed the great performance of the Aston Martin Racing team. I am proud of everybody for demonstrating great speed, professionalism and competitiveness right up to the end of 24th hour. This achievement is a truly fitting tribute to Allan Simonsen.”
Danish-born racer Allan Simonsen started his Le Mans career in 2007 and what he was hoping for is to become one of the most successful part of an all-Danish team racing an Aston Martin Vantage in the GTE-Am category. Thoughts go for his family and friends and so sorry for his loss...
So, the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans became a hot topic on the whole Father's Day Weekend. It was 24 hours of slash, crash, and bash until Audi won again. Sadly, I'm short on words so here's an article found from Autoblog.com:
With Peugeot's withdrawal from the world's greatest endurance race, everyone was looking to the rookie Toyota team and its two petrol-hybrid TS030 race cars to provide some kind of worthy competition for the two diesel-hybrid Audi R18 e-tron quattros and two Audi diesel R18 Ultras. And they did. Five hours from the drop of the green flag, Nicolas Lapierre in the No. 7 Toyota passed Benoit Treluyer in the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro on track to take the lead.
At almost the same time, Anthony Davidson in the No. 8 Toyota was getting launched into the air when a GT Pro-class Ferrari turned into him heading into Mulsanne Corner. Both drivers had massive impacts with the tire barrier, ending their races, and Davidson is now lying in the hospital with two fractured vertebra. Worse yet, the second Toyota had fallen to second due to a pit stop during the safety car period, and on the restart it crashed into the Nissan DeltaWing. That DeltaWing's race was ended after a solid run in its experimental class – its biggest issue appeared to be that other drivers couldn't see it. The Toyota returned to the pits for repairs and got back on track, but retired with engine failure about 12 hours in.
That left the four Audis to box for the victory, and they took the boxing seriously, making contact with tire walls, with other cars and with each other before the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by last year's winners Treluyer, Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler took the win, the first Le Mans win by a hybrid-powered car. Second was the No. 2 R18 e-tron quattro of "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, then the two diesel-powered R18 ultras in third and fifth. Nicolas Prost, son of four-time F1 champion Alain Prost, took fourth in a Lola Toyota, breaking up the Audi family.
The LMP2 class win was snagged by Ryan Dalziel in an HPD-Honda, pursued heavily by the Oreca-Nissan team. Giancarlo Fisichella took the AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia to victory in the GT Pro class after having crashed the car so badly on Wednesday that the team had to start the race at the back of the pack; the GT Am Corvettes were beset by mechanical trouble and on-track incidents. Redemption for the home team came from Pedro Lamy in the Labre Corvette C6.R, who claimed GT Am honors ahead of the Imsa Porsche team.
Moments after Peugeot's withdrawal at the Le Mans, Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled its competitor at the 2012 Le Mans. This is the Toyota TS030 Hybrid. This Hybrid Le Mans Prototype is packed with a 3.4L V8 engine mated with one of two electric motors; one from Aisin and another one from Denso.
PRESS RELEASE:
TOYOTA RACING UNVEILS 2012 LE MANS CHALLENGER
Toyota Racing today announced more details of its forthcoming FIA World Endurance Championship participation, including an intention to race two cars in specific races.
The new team, which is based at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, Germany, will make its race debut on 5 May in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Toyota Racing intends to enter two TS030 HYBRID cars in the subsequent Le Mans 24 Hours (16-17 June. Participation in further rounds is yet to be confirmed.
A driver line-up of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima has already been confirmed for one car while discussions are still ongoing to finalise the driver line-up for the other. Additionally, Andrea Caldarelli, from Pescara, Italy, has joined Toyota Racing as a junior driver.
The TS030 HYBRID is Toyota's successor to the iconic TS010 and TS020 cars which participated at Le Mans with podium success during the 1990s, with TS an acronym for ToyotaSport.
Toyota is the first manufacturer to confirm its participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship using a hybrid system, emphasising the pioneering approach to this technology which has seen more than 3.5 million Toyota hybrid vehicles sold worldwide.
The THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System – Racing) powertrain is designed to deliver maximum performance and features an all-new V8 3.4litre normally-aspirated petrol engine and hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo.
The team will use the TS030 HYBRID's first test to evaluate the merits, within the current regulations, of a front motor system produced by Aisin AW and a rear motor system developed by official team partner DENSO. Those regulations limit hybrid systems to recovering a maximum of 500kJ between braking zones whilst restricting deployment to only two wheels.
A brand new carbon fibre LMP1 chassis has been developed and produced at TMG, where the complete car was assembled for the first time in preparation for a roll-out on 11-13 January at Paul Ricard.
During an exclusive test session at the French track, which included running in darkness, the TS030 HYBRID completed several hundred kilometres, showing an impressive level of reliability and performance for this very early stage in the car's testing programme.
Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre both put the TS030 HYBRID through its paces at Paul Ricard, joined by 30-year-old Japanese driver Hiroaki Ishiura, who is a candidate to join the driver line-up at races where Toyota Racing participates with two cars.
Official partners to the Toyota Racing programme include ZENT, Aisin, Nippon Steel, Takata, Toyoda Gosei and Michelin.
Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President: "Of course we would love to win Le Mans; that is the dream for all competitors in this race. But we are realistic and we know we need to develop and to learn in order to compete with some very strong competition. Our target this year is to show the performance level of our car and particularly the THS-R powertrain. Hybrid is a core technology of Toyota so it is important to demonstrate this in a motorsport arena and we want to prove it can bring a performance advantage, both in terms of lap time and fuel efficiency. Everyone involved in designing, developing and preparing the car – both at TMG and at Motor Sport Division in Japan – has worked incredibly hard to reach this point and we are all very excited to be back on the race track again."
Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director: "The two main performance drivers of our TS030 HYBRID car are the aerodynamics and the hybrid system. The regulations for hybrid powertrains allow us to recover energy under braking and release this to improve acceleration out of a corner, delivering lap-time benefit. For any given performance level, a hybrid powertrain will achieve this with less fuel so it is an extremely relevant technology and one we are excited to be bringing to endurance racing. Another key point in our development phase has been delivering aerodynamic efficiency. The development team at TMG has worked very hard to achieve an optimum aero concept using our state-of-the-art aero development processes based on combined wind tunnel testing and CFD. Judging by the positive feedback we received during the roll-out we have a very good base on which to build in the coming weeks."
Hisatake Murata, Hybrid Project Leader: "Toyota has been working on hybrid systems for motorsport for several years, during which time we have made huge progress. Now we feel ready to bring our technology to the ultimate motorsport test: the Le Mans 24 Hours. Integrating a hybrid powertrain is, of course, a different challenge compared to a 'standard' powertrain. But we have worked together with partners such as DENSO, Aisin AW and Nisshinbo to develop the THS-R technology so it is part of the overall concept of the TS030 HYBRID. This technology will be used to recover up to 500kJ between braking events, energy which can be released via either front or rear motors to deliver a performance advantage. Toyota's hybrid technology has already won a 24-hour race – the Tokachi 24 Hours in 2007 – so now we are bringing the latest THS-R development to global motorsport; we know this is a technically-demanding exercise but we are well prepared for the challenge."
Alex Wurz: "It was cool to drive the TS030 HYBRID car for the first time. Just leaving the garage on the electric power is very futuristic, then when you let the clutch go and the internal combustion engine kicks in it is like an old friend has returned! When we put on the slick tyre I could feel the car generates a very good amount of grip so I think we have a good base and I think we can turn this into a really fast car. I am definitely very happy but my nature is to also be analytical and therefore I know there is still a lot of work to be done. It's really good to work with all the mechanics and engineers; the Toyota Racing team is very international and this works well. I am very comfortable in this team because they are all extremely professional, that is really clear."
Nicolas Lapierre: "My first impression from the roll-out was positive; the chassis is really advanced and the hybrid system works very well. The TS030 HYBRID car has good reaction to the steering with quick and efficient response combined with an impressive base level of downforce which is a nice feeling for a driver. It is totally different from anything I have known before because the philosophy is different. So our roll-out was promising and we saw the car's potential on several levels; we still have plenty of work to do but I think that we will have a strong package. We are starting from a blank page so the challenge is exciting."
Kazuki Nakajima: "I cannot wait to drive the TS030 HYBRID for the first time. I spoke a lot with Alex and Nicolas about the car during the roll-out and it obviously has great potential. I have been doing a lot of time in the TMG driving simulator so I have got to know the car in a virtual world, as well as the Le Mans track; now it's time to drive it for real. It is a great opportunity for me and I am thoroughly looking forward to the experience of racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Racing. To return to Le Mans with hybrid technology is a big challenge for Toyota but it is also a real opportunity for all the drivers and I hope my recent Super GT experience will be a benefit. It's a great feeling to be involved in this project and I am really motivated for this season."
This is surely a bad news for those who are big fans of the 24 Hours of Le Mans because PSA Peugeot-Citroen announces its withdrawal at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, effective now, because of the financial troubles. It's a shame that the European Debt Crisis really put a massive toll on the French carmaker that is famous for its 908 HDi FAP Le Mans Prototype that won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans against the Audi R10, following with another win with the 908 at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.
PRESS RELEASE:
Peugeot brings down the curtain on its endurance programme so as to ensure the success of its numerous launches in 2012
After 14 victories in the last 16 races, including a double at the Le Mans 24 Hours 2009 as part of the ILMC championship won by Peugeot two years running, in 2010 and 2011, the Brand has decided to close its 2012 endurance programme and will not be taking part in the next Le Mans 24 Hours.
This decision has been taken against the backdrop of the challenging economic environment in Europe coupled with a particularly busy year for the Brand in terms of new vehicle launches. In this context, Peugeot prefers to concentrate its 2012 resources on its commercial performance and, in particular, ensuring the successful launches of the 208, 3008 HYbrid4, 508 RXH, 508 HYbrid4 and 4008 which will take forward the Brand's strategy of moving upmarket and extending its global presence. In keeping with its social responsibility obligations and as part of the GPEC (forward management of jobs and skills) agreement signed by 5 trade unions, all of the employees concerned will be offered redeployment solutions within the Group thanks to a special system set up to oversee and lead occupational training/retraining as well as internal mobility.
WOWIES! Audi made a new Le Mans Prototype! This new Audi Le Mans Prototype is called the R18.
Wow! This Audi LMP has a meaner look. This meaner look will scare the opponents out of the 24 Hour Le Mans Race for good, but is this greater than other Audi Le Mans Prototypes?
