Toyota Racing achieved an emotional runners-up finish in the 90th anniversary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours after a rollercoaster race which saw drivers and team overcome immense challenges in this third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The #8 TS030 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin finished second while the #7 of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima completed a satisfying week for the team by taking fourth. That second place equals Toyota's best finish at Le Mans as the TS030 Hybrid matched the results of the TS010 (1992), 94C-V (1994) and TS020 (1999). Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President, said “to get both cars to the finish and to stand on the podium was a very satisfying result. I am happy with this result but my dream is to win Le Mans so I am determined we will come back even stronger next year.” A chaotic race featured regularly-changing weather causing treacherous track conditions which contributed to 11 safety car periods and made driving extremely difficult for the drivers. The #7 Hybrid car overcame a turbulent 24 hours which saw it face several challenges, including a loss of fuel pressure early in the race, a slow in-lap to conserve fuel and two precautionary tire changes when sensors indicated slow punctures. A day of perfect reliability for the Hybrid #8 car saw it push for victory before eventually completing the 24 hours. The TS030 Hybrid had a successful first season winning three of the six races it entered. — SG
