History will now show that Toyota achieved their maiden 24 Hours of Le Mans victory at the 86th running of the French endurance race. Since Toyota first appeared at the classic endurance race in 1975, they have achieved multiple podium finishes but never a race win in that 43 year period until 2018 with the #8 car of Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima leading a one-two for the manufacturer.
2018 is also the year that Spaniard Fernando Alonso added the classic race to his two Monaco Grand Prix wins, in his attempt at the Triple Crown (winning the Monaco Grand Prix, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500).
The fact that Toyota comprehensively won the race will not matter. Neither will the absence of any other manufacturer in the top LMP1 class. History can be more about facts than how it was made.
In the end, that there was no other major competition in 2018 does not matter. History shows that Toyota’s biggest competition has been itself. Getting cars to finish 24 hours of racing on the podium was rare for them. Victory alluded them, but now no more.
Here is a list of Toyota’s attempts at Le Mans:
1975 – Toyota appeared at Le Mans as an engine supplier for the Sigma MC75. Engine problems meant the car eventually retired.
1980 – Again, a Toyota powered car entered the classic race when Dome teamed up with Toyota tuner TOM’s to enter an A40 Toyota Celica, powered by a turbo 18R-G twin-cam, into the IMSA-GTX class. This was not supported officially by Toyota and it failed to qualify for the race.
1985 – This attempt is considered as the first ‘officially’ backed Le Mans entry when Dome and TOM’s entered a Group C racer. Two Toyota 85C-L were entered as two separate teams. Both qualified with the #38 car retiring with clutch failure and the #36 completing 330 laps finishing 12th overall and marking the first time a Japanese car had finished the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1986 – The year that Mazda debuted their first triple-rotor engine! Dome and TOM’s returned with two 86C’s. No #36 TOM’s car retired after 105 laps while the #38 retired after 296 laps.
1987 – Now with the full backing of Toyota, the TOM’s team again returned with Dome. Both cars retiring early.
1988 – A similar campaign to 1987, but this time both cars finished placing 12th and 14th.
1989 – Toyota developed an all-new twin-turbo V8. Toyota expanded to three cars, two new 89Cs and one 88C, but none of them finished at Le Mans.
1990 – Three Toyota 90C-V cars entered with the #36 car finishing 6th overall.
1991 – No Toyota entry in 1991
1992 – FIA rules changed for 1992 with all C1 class cars having to run a 3.5 litre V10. Toyota’s new TS010 finished second at Le Mans, though a number of mechanical errors cost the team their first chance of victory. The other two placed ninth and tenth overall.
1993-Toyota Team TOM’s finished fourth and ninth with the Peugeot Talbot Sport achieving a 1-2-3.
1994 – Again a change in FIA rules, this time making the TS010 ineligible. Factory support was withdrawn by Toyota but this did not deter several privateers entering with the older C2-class Toyota 94C-Vs cars. Between them, the Toyotas’ led for 17 hours. Then the No 4 Nisso-Trust Toyota suffered gearbox problems dropping from first to fifth while the No 1 SARD Toyota, after leading for nine hours suffered a transmission linkage problem and finished second overall.
1995 – Toyota was represented by SARD with a Supra LM finishing 14th overall with an experimental MC8-R retiring after 14 laps.
1996 – SARD’s MC8-R finished 24th while the Supra LM crashed out after 205 laps.
1998 – This was a serious attempt by Toyota with the stunning looking TS020 GT-One. This was a seriously quick car powered by an updated version of the R36V twin-turbo V8. Three cars were brought to Le Mans where Toyota should have won. Two failed and the third finished ninth.
1999 – Again three GT-One cars lined up on the grid. Again a win alluded Toyota which had to settle for one car finishing in second place behind BMW. Toyota withdrew from competing at Le Mans while it now focused on its new Formula One program.
2012 – Toyota returned to Le Mans but this time with hybrid technology. Audi were the main game and Toyota failed to finish both entered cars – one to a crash, the other with engine failure.
2013 – Audi took their 12th victory in 14 years. Toyota were just not fast enough finishing second and fourth.
2014 – Toyota were on pole with their very powerful TS040. They led the most laps in 2014. A crash to the #8 car dropped it down the order but it fought back to finish third behind two Audi. The Toyota #7 car retired while in the lead! (Toyota went on to win the World Endurance Championship.)
2015 – Both Audi and Porsche were more competitive than Toyota. The TS040 was never in the hunt and finished sixth and eighth.
2016 – This was the year to provide the greatest heartache for Toyota. Their new TS050 was considered the to be the car to beat. While running first and third, at 23 hours and 55mins the #5 car lost power and came to a grinding halt on the last lap. Porsche took advantage and the win with the #6 Toyota second.
2017 – A three car assault again proved to no avail. The #8 car suffered from problems to its hybrid system. The #7 car retired with clutch failure while the #9 retired due to a tyre failure damaging the hydraulic system. Porsche again the win.
And what of Alonso?
He now gains the second part of the Triple Crown and it looks like he may head to the IndyCar Series in 2019, clearing the way for a more organised assault on the Indianapolis 500, the final piece in the Triple Crown jig-saw.
Let’s not forget Juan Pablo Montoya who made his maiden debut at Le Mans this year for United Autosports in an LMP2 car. Having already won both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, let us not be surprised if he moves up to a LMP1 team at Le Mans in 2019.
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