On paper Toyota’s return to the LMP1 category at Le Mans in 2012 was an abject failure. Yet, with an interrupted development program, they have much to be proud of. Like this battle between Benoît Tréluyer in the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro and Nicolas Lapierre in the #7 Toyota TS030 Hybrid.
In a high speed fight for the Mulsanne Straight the Toyota finished in front and took the lead of the race. Let’s hope in 2013 they find the reliability required to keep pace with Audi for the full 24 hours.
Lapierre gives us his side of the story: “I’m leaving the pits to start my fifth stint, the third on the same set of tyres. I know he’s ahead of me and I don’t have much time to ask questions. Honestly, I’m not thinking about where I’m going to overtake him. I attack and I see traffic ahead of him in the second chicane. I can take my chance at Mulsanne corner…
“I’m able to pass him at the exit of Mulsanne. He passes me back at Arnage. I could have closed the door but I prefer not to take any chances and I retake him at the exit of the corner. I know at that point that it’s very important to pass at that spot. The Porsche curves follow, and I know that he won’t be able to pass me after that. And that’s what I’m able to do.â€
[Source: Toyota Hybrid Racing]
7 replies on “2012 Le Mans 24: Audi v Toyota”
Poor Toyota…
Mazda’s 787B started way back in the field and went on to win… That’s how it’s done… Then they got banned…
Audi smashed smashed Toyota and without one of the best racing teams ever, Peugeot couldn’t keep them honest this year. Damn shame because 2011 was the best Le Mans “racing” I have ever watched. Peugeot almost had them (Audi) but they turned the wick up so much they blew all their cars up chasing them down. They would have won if it wasn’t for the turbo’s failing.
I agree, the Toyota was a miserable failure this year. Taking the lead for a couple of laps might look good on YouTube and give them something to make a puffy press release about, but it was clear that there was no substance to it. They lost the lead as soon as they took their next pit stop and then cooked the car later on.
I wonder if Toyota knew they didn’t have the capacity to go 24 hours and deliberately decided to run a maximum-pace short stint early in the race while it was still light enough for it to be seen on video rather than rather than taking a punt on their car still being a) running and b) in touch with the Audis in the morning?
I wonder if Audi knew this was how it was going and told their driver to put up just a token fight so they didn’t look completely lame and then go back to the real race plan?
I agree Dave. Perhaps Toyota thought Mazda’s philosophy that took them to win outright in thee 787B was the way to go and sprint from the start. I guess this shows again how reliable the Rotary actually is in reality.
Rotary was extremely lucky to win that race as even they admit a lot of the front runners dropped out. It certainly didn’t win because it was the fastest car. While yes it was a great win, don’t expect to see a repeat even if the rotary engine was allowed to compete again. Rotary lovers keep on talking about that win like it was the greatest win in history. Fact is it wasn’t! Toyota and Nissan have had much faster Le Mans cars pre and post the 787B. The Porsche 917 now that was a truly fast Le Mans race car and one of the greatest of all time!
Winning is winning Pete. Suck it up. No one has ever said it was the greatest win in history so I fail to see your point. It was the greatest win for any Japanese manufacturer and for the Rotary Engine. It proved once and for all that the reliability is there and it did so whilst everything else failed. It was the best horse on the day and was then banned. Why was that Pete? You seem to know it all, care to explain?
Do your research RE.
“best horse on the day and was then banned” – total rubbish. The new regulations had already relegated those old Group C cars to the second class for one transition year with the new regulations to come in properly for 1992. The new rules were decided in 1989, not after the 787B won the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours.
To call it the best Japanese motorsport accomplishment is a whopper, the German-designed engine was the only part of the car built by a Japanese company and Japanese engines had previously won whole F1 championships (Honda, including 1988 with 15 wins in 16 races and the other one being taken out by a backmarker). If the Mercedes drivers had kept their car on the track the Merc would have won, and the 787/787B generally had a quite poor run in reliability terms outside of that one race where it all fell into their laps (it was the 787/787B’s only race win).
If you’re looking at Japanese-entered cars at Le Mans, the Toyota TS020 second place in the hotly contested 1999 race is probably a greater achievement because it didn’t fall into their lap just as a reward for keeping their car on the track and in one piece.
RE. I do believe you have just been owned. Case closed. I think you’re the one that seems to know it all, but really doesn’t!
I do like the rotary engine, it has a quirky charm to it. But like all quirky things they are not practical and don’t stand the test of time. Fact is even the last rotary of the RX8 is a gas guzzler and more alarming an engine oil drinker for an engine with such a small capacity in terms of CC. Even Mazda have finally realised this and have given up on it. Only place you will see rotaries is with die-hard middle eastern drag racers.
I also agree that Honda has achieved far more as a Japanese manufacturer in terms of motor racing than Mazda and its rotary engine ever did or ever could. Honda engines once dominated F1 which is the pinnacle of motor-sport.