Heartbreak for Toyotaposted in LEMANS19 | 06 | 2016

    KAZUKI NAKAJIMA WILL forever be remembered as the man who came agonisingly close to finally delivering Toyota’s first Le Mans 24-Hours win, only for it to be cruelly, and agonisingly taken away less than one lap from the end.

    Having covered more than 3200 miles, the Japanese driver’s #5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid ground to a halt as it crossed the star-finish line to begin its final lap.

    To rub further salt into the already painful wound, Nakajima, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi later lost what would have been a second-place finish because of disqualification.

    This was enforced by the race’s governing body, the French ACO, because the car completed the final lap too slowly to be classified, even though Nakajima managed to get it running again.

    “First of all, thank you to all the team members; we did everything right,” an understandably emotional and tearful Nakajima said after the race.

    “The car was great to drive. It was tough to have Porsche No. 2 only 30 seconds behind me towards the end, but we had the pace and we managed it very well.

    “It was only two laps missing and it’s a pity we didn’t get the trophy; the team deserved to win.

    “When I was doing my last lap to the chequered flag, all the marshals and fans were really kind to me and that was very emotional.

    “I want to say thank you for that. Let’s come back stronger and grab that trophy.”

    Related:

    Toyota distraught, but delight for Hoy

    Jarvis: I'd give up my podium for Toyota

    Di Grassi: Audi performance "horrible"

    Chris Hoy: My amazing Le Mans debut

    And Toyota team president Toshio Sato praised the effort of his drivers, pit crews and all who had worked on the development of the two race cars since last June.

    “I am incredibly proud of our team effort, not just today but since Le Mans last year,” Sato said.

    “The way we have responded to the pain of our 2015 disappointment, by developing an all-new chassis and powertrain in a short timeframe, has been impressive, and the performance of the TS050 Hybrid was strong.

    “We worked as one team and took part in an amazing Le Mans 24-Hours. Congratulations to Porsche on its victory.

    “I have no words to describe our emotions today. It is simply heartbreaking, but we will return stronger and more determined to win.”

    Having led early-on, the #6 Toyota of Stephane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, came through to finish second behind the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid that inherited the win from the struggling #5 Toyota.

    “I have mixed feelings,” Conway admitted. “Second is OK, but we are all gutted for car No. 5. They drove a great race and were controlling it. You could see how upset everyone was; I really feel for them.”

    Related: Audi ace McNish tips Hoy to finish on Le Mans debut

    Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/Scotcars

    Jim McGill

    Caption: The #2 Porsche blast past the stricken #5 Toyota stranded 20m after crossing the start/finish line to begin its final lap.

     

User Comments

Login or register to post comments.