Toyota, a possible victory missed due to technical problems and errors | FormulaPassion.it

Unlucky and imperfect Toyota

To counterbalance the splendid victory of the Ferrari at the 24 hours of Le Mans there can obviously only be the disappointment of his opponents, first and foremost of Toyota: The two cars from the Japanese company finished in second and fifth place in the general classification and this year too, like last, they were the toughest opponents of the Ferrari 499P. Both for the value of the pilots and for the characteristics of the GR010 which on cold and damp asphalt has often been the best performing car. Unfortunately for Toyota, however, the entire race weekend was dotted with driving errors by the drivers and small technical problems during the race. Factors that contributed to the Japanese cars exiting the fight for the final victory. In particular, the GR010 #7, second place with the crew Kobayashi, de Vries, Lopez (who replaced the owner Conway who was injured on the eve of the race) suffered in the race two slow punctures and a couple of engine problems. The Argentine was the protagonist of a final stint in desperate pursuit of Nielsen’s Ferrari which had to manage its remaining energy to reach the finish line in first position. In the end, just over fourteen seconds separated Nielsen from Lopez, a gap that over 24 hours of racing was comparable to a whisker.

Drivers and technicians agree, it could have been won

Lopez’s statements at the end of the match reveal his disappointment at the great opportunity that passed away:

“Every time we were catching up something would happen. We lost time in the slow areas, we had two punctures, one with Kamui and one with me as soon as I came out of the garage for the last two stints, when he was dry. Kamui had an engine problem and I had one too. I don’t like assumptions, but we definitely had the right pace. We set the fastest lap of the racemy lap was taken away due to track limits, but it was also the fastest lap. I have to be proud of what the team did and also of my work. In the wet I was gaining a lot of time, making a difference. I’m really proud, at 41 years old, to have arrived a week early and to have managed to do this performance. I just have to thank everyone at Toyota for giving me the responsibility to finish the race.”
Lopez was also the protagonist of a spin at the Dunlop chicane in the last hour of the race, an incident which he himself described as “strange”, suggesting that it could have been caused by the “engine brake or something in the system”, denying however that it was decisive for the final victory. Toyota has the chance to win.

Regarding the engine problems suffered by the #7, the technical director of Toyota Gazoo Racing David Floury he has declared: “The first was due to a sensor. The second time it was a switch that has been activated. We do not have the possibility to intervene on the switches via telemetry because it is not permitted. We had to tell him (Lopez) what to do while he was driving.”

Floury has quite clear ideas about the reasons for the final defeat to Ferrari:

“The reasons are different. On car no. 7 we had two slow punctures and in both cases we had to make additional stops outside our window. In terms of absolute pace, I think Ferrari was a little faster. Considering all the conditions, the degradation, I think we were strong. I don’t think we lost the race because of the car (referring to the performance ed.)”

Speaking instead of the Toyota #8, fifth was the finish line driven by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sebastien Buemi, Hartley’s spin two hours from the end in the battle with Alessandro Pier Guidi’s Ferrari was decisive. There GR010 #8 she had also been leading the race towards the halfway point of the race but then the heavy rain washed away much of her ambitions for victory.

“We had a chance to win“Hirakawa said. “I was leading the race before the safety cars and slow zones arrived. It’s a shame. We did what we could. It is very difficult to predict the weather, and it is easy to tell in hindsight. Before the rain came, we had some rhythm. In the end the rain didn’t do us any favors. But this is Le Mans. We will come back stronger.”